Bianca Saunders Is Championing Sustainable Denim In Her S/S'22 Collection

While denim is a staple in many of our wardrobes, you may not be aware of just how damaging it can be for the planet. Shockingly, one pair of jeans can require up to 10,850 litres of water to produce, due to the vast amount of resources involved in growing cotton and the intensive dyeing and treatment processes.

Luckily, an increasing number of designers are finding more eco-friendly alternatives – including Bianca Saunders, who is championing sustainable denim in her spring/summer 2022 collection. “Denim has become an important element to the brand, alongside tailoring,” she tells Vogue. “I love the idea of using traditional heavy-duty fabrics and transforming them with my signature designs.”

Saunders has worked with eco-friendly manufacturer ISKO for the second time to create her bomber-style denim jackets and twisted-seam jeans, after previously trialling the material in her autumn/winter 2020 collection. “ISKO is the best denim manufacturer to partner with, mainly because sustainability is so intrinsic to the brand,” she says. “It was so great to partner with a responsible company.”

For this collection, the designer used ISKO’s R-TWO denim, which contains a mix of reused and recycled fibres, reducing the amount of raw materials needed in the process, while the ecru denim was produced using ISKO’s EFD technology, which eliminates the pre-bleaching process, reducing water and chemical usage.

Saunders is the latest rising designer to be won over by ISKO’s eco-credentials, with Matty Bovan also opting for the material in his spring/ summer 2022 collection. “[These] collections demonstrate how simple it is for designers to incorporate sustainable materials into their designs, creating responsible garments without compromising on quality, style and durability,” adds Keith O’Brien, ISKO’s marketing and business development manager. Here’s hoping we see more designers following suit in the future.