For several years, ECONYL® regenerated nylon has played a central role within the Textile Design department at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle in Germany.
What began as a simple material provision has grown into a meaningful partnership—one that gives emerging designers the opportunity to work with a high-performance, circular material while developing new approaches to textile innovation.
By offering free access to ECONYL® yarn, students can experiment without limitations, test advanced constructions, and integrate conscious design principles into their academic research. Many choose ECONYL® nylon for semester projects, master theses, and experimental work thanks to its versatility, technical stability, and regenerated origin.
A Collaboration that Sparks Ideas
Over time, the relationship between Aquafil — maker of ECONYL® regenerated nylon — and Burg Giebichenstein has developed into a valuable exchange of perspectives, hands-on learning, and material exploration.
Two major semester projects — Plastik statt Jute (2019) and Hard and Soft (2023) — used ECONYL® regenerated nylon as the central material, inviting students to challenge textile boundaries, explore new technologies, and gain insights into the value chain through visits to production sites in Slovenia and Arco.
Student Projects: Exploring the Future of Materials
A selection of projects developed at Burg Giebichenstein demonstrates how ECONYL® regenerated nylon inspires new thinking in textile design, product innovation, and experimental processes.
SHOE TACTICS – A Modular Approach to Shoe Design, By Nathalie
SHOE TACTICS develops modular, recyclable shoe components in knitwear using ECONYL® regenerated nylon. The project explores monomaterial construction and an adhesive-free connection between sole and upper through a lacing system, with prototypes created on both hand and industrial flat knitting machines. The aim is to rethink how shoes are built today, reducing material complexity while enabling future recyclability.
WOLFEN – A Regenerated Interior Collection, By Nathalie
Developed during Made in Wolfen 2023, WOLFEN combines historic Dederon yarn with ECONYL® regenerated nylon in a jacquard interior textile collection inspired by stories from fibre-production workers in former East Germany. Presented at the OSTEN Festival 2024, it encouraged visitors to reconnect with personal and collective memories through touch and texture. The project reflects on how materials can carry cultural identity across generations.
RUNNING STITCH – All Pouch, No Stitch, By Hannah
Running Stitch explores a knitting technique that integrates pockets seamlessly without sewing, addressing the persistent lack of functional pockets in women’s fashion. Made entirely from ECONYL® regenerated nylon, the piece combines performance, comfort, and shape-driven knitting on a single industrial machine. The result is a versatile textile that reimagines how storage can be incorporated into clothing.
UNFOLDED – A Self-Supporting Textile, By Lena
UNFOLDED investigates how a multi-layered jacquard fabric made from ECONYL® regenerated nylon and nylon can transform from a flat textile into a self-supporting form through cutting, turning, and unfolding. Its stability and weather resistance make it suitable for architectural and outdoor applications. The project demonstrates how textile structures can become spatial, sculptural, and independently standing.
The project is nominated for the GiebichenStein Designpreis 2025.
VERTILOOPS – Textile Plant Supporters, By Lena
Vertiloops uses knitted tubes made from ECONYL® regenerated nylon, filled with substrate and seeds, to create flexible textile structures for façade greening in urban environments. Woven on the V-Loom, the monomaterial fabric is durable, weather-resistant, and adaptable to different architectural contexts. Through its modularity, the textile enables new biotopes to emerge where greenery typically struggles to root.
By supporting experimentation and encouraging students to challenge conventional approaches, ECONYL® regenerated nylon becomes more than a material — it becomes a catalyst for new ideas, technical exploration, and responsible innovation. Its versatility allows emerging designers to test future-oriented concepts, expand the possibilities of textile construction, and rethink how materials can shape the next generation of products.