Toray Industries, Inc., donated samples of Ultrasuede non-woven material with a suede texture to Tama Arts University’s color/materials/trends/exploration laboratory (CMTEL) for the Ultrasuede Design Cooking: Toray + Tama Art University Materials Exploration Program. In the program’s final report session on June 23, students presented innovative findings from cutting, pasting, tearing, sewing, and other experiments with Ultrasuede. The university established CMTEL in 2007 as Japan’s first materials laboratory.
The program encompassed a two-month workshop for students of the Department of Product Design, including lectures about materials basics and interim and final report sessions. The Toray-donated Ultrasuede comprised surplus samples and test pieces in keeping with the company’s desire to encourage efforts to build to a circular economy. The uniformly outstanding experimental results and items that the students created should inspire Ultrasuede development at Toray in the coming years.
In 2016, Toray started conducting fabric classes and providing free Ultrasuede for graduation projects at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. The company has since continued to supply information and donate this fabric to prominent fashion and design schools in Japan and elsewhere. Toray assists young, up-and-coming designers by sponsoring overseas fashion events and award programs.