Natasha Devaud
Our thirty-sixth member of the month is Natasha Devaud
UCRF is running a ‘Member of the Month’ feature on this blog, where a member, selected at random from the membership database, is sent five questions to give us all an overview of our members. Our latest participant, Natasha Devaud, is a fashion designer and emerging researcher exploring material innovation and circular textile systems, with a particular focus on combining unwanted wool with bast fibres to develop new natural-fibre applications across fashion and beyond.
—1. How would you sum up your research/practice?
I am at the beginning of a new research journey, so I would describe my practice as emergent, exploratory, and somewhat messy. It feels a little like being a toddler constantly discovering new things without yet fully understanding all the connections between them.
Writing and submitting a PhD proposal—although it was ultimately not accepted—helped me clarify my intentions and begin structuring the stages needed to pursue them. The proposal was nevertheless received with serious interest, which encouraged me to continue independently. My next step is to develop the research while building connections with academics, organisations, private companies, makers, and researchers working in related areas.
My current focus is on the potential of combining unwanted wool with bast fibres. It is a slow process, but one that depends on building knowledge, collaborations, and material experiments over time.
—2. How do you address fashion and sustainability in your work?
Although I come from a fashion design background, I do not want to limit the work to fashion alone. I am interested in developing textile materials that could also have applications in fields such as medicine, engineering, safety, and other functional contexts.
That said, fashion may be the most accessible and visible entry point for this research. It can help bring attention to new materials and sustainable textile approaches, while also offering a more expressive and engaging space for experimentation. In practical terms, fashion can act as a bridge between material innovation, public awareness, and wider technical applications.
—3. What are the conflicts you have encountered around fashion and sustainability in your work?
For most of my career, I worked in visual effects for film, often creating avatars and digital clothing. In that context, sustainability was not a central concern beyond the energy use associated with digital production. Since shifting my focus to physical textiles and fashion, the environmental contradictions have become much more apparent. One major issue is the enormous volume of petroleum-based garments produced every day. Another is that many garments made primarily from natural fibres still include a small proportion of synthetic fibres—such as elastane or spandex—for stretch, durability, or fit. While these additions are often practical, they can make the textiles much harder to recycle at the end of their life.
I am particularly interested in whether natural-fibre combinations can eventually deliver some of the performance qualities currently provided by synthetics. This is one reason I am exploring blends of unwanted wool and bast fibres, potentially alongside more elastic plant-based fibres. The goal is not simply to replace one material with another, but to investigate how fibre combinations can create useful properties while supporting more circular material systems.
—4. What do you consider the key sources and cases when it comes to fashion and sustainability?
At this stage, I am still researching broadly rather than working from a fixed set of key sources. I am especially interested in material developments that challenge conventional fibre systems and make better use of underutilized resources. One example is the Wool–Alginate Fiber Blend, which points toward the potential of combining natural fibres to achieve enhanced performance characteristics. I am also interested in denim brands that incorporate wool and/or linen into their fabric compositions, including Dao Davy and Kiplay Vintage. However, I would like to see more experimentation with wool beyond merino. Large quantities of non-merino wool are discarded despite animals continuing to be shorn for welfare reasons, making this an important overlooked material stream.
In fashion production, the development of 3D-printed garments is also encouraging. Designers such as Danit Peleg demonstrate how additive manufacturing can reduce cutting waste by producing pieces directly, potentially supporting more on-demand and localized production models. Its sustainability value, however, depends strongly on the materials used, their durability, and whether they can be safely reused, recycled, or biodegraded.
—5. Could you recommend some less-known sources or cases you think should be more widely shared?
I was recently introduced to The Interline, which offers concise overviews of fashion, technology, and innovation topics. Its short-format reporting is useful for identifying emerging developments and deciding which subjects are worth exploring further.
Thank you Natasha for sharing your work!
