DEEPTI °014-015 COLLECTION

Since we started Lucentement, we were always fascinated by Deepti's material choices. Silver was the inspiration and directory for her °014-015 collection. In a conversation with Deepti, we asked her about her relationship with silver and how she managed to incorporate oxidizing silver in her yarns.

Deepti's first affiliation with silver came from the medical field. In hospitals silver is used in very low percentages to help sterilize medical gear and equipment at lower temperatures. Silver contains antibacterial, anti-allergic and fungicidal qualities, constitutional effects and is sufficient in wound-healing, skin-protection and odor-inhibition. Silver has been used extensively in bandages to treat external infections. These healing properties of the material fascinated her to start experimenting with this material on clothes.

This led to an extensive research where pure silver was amplified to parachute silk (ripstop polyamide) and various yarns for knit and weaving fabrics.

 

In her °014-015 collection, Deepti often refers to applying 925 and 999 silver. This is a reference to the purity of the silver. 925 which stands for a purity of 92,5%, is often used in sterling silver jewelry. Other metals are added to harden the silver. 999 represents the purity of 99,9% silver, which Deepti applies to the fabrics and yarns of the designs of this collection.

Silver possesses high thermal conductivity. This positive attribute of temperature regulation helps cleansing the body from toxics when worn. When silver gets exposed to humidity and air containing hydrogen sulfide, the precious metal will oxidize and therefore change its colour over a period of time.

The designs from this collections were offered naturally with oxidization in the light color. This creates a natural oxidization process over time, which means that the items grow together with the wearer. Optionally, the items were also offered in an artisanally oxidized version. To acquire this darker color, Deepti manually oxidized the jackets post manufacturing in her studio. The zips and buttons were also coated in real silver and oxidized accordingly to achieve the same color on the zips and buttons, a protracted and intensive process.

A fun fact about the manufacturing process in these jacket; The silver was reflecting the sunlight so intensively, that the tailor had to wear sunglasses whilst sewing the jackets.