Mili Tharakan is a woman of many talents. Having spent 20 years working in smart textiles as a designer and researcher, Mili brings her expertise to her podcast No Ordinary Cloth, where she delves into the wonderful world of textiles and tapestry innovation. Recently, Fashion District collaborated with No Ordinary Cloth on a podcast mini-series, featuring interviews with some of the most innovative emerging designers, pioneers, experts, and visionaries in the sustainable textiles space.
Last week, we had the pleasure of speaking with Mili about her career journey, the inspiration behind her hit podcast, and the resources she recommends for those interested in the field. Read on to discover more.
Tell us a bit about your background.
I’m a smart textile designer and developer with 20 years of experience in academia and industry. My passion lies at the intersection of traditional textile crafts and emerging technology, inspired by my Indian heritage and its vibrant textile culture.
Over the years, having lived and worked in countries including Oman, Singapore, Sweden, and now the UK, I love learning about new cultures, their heritage crafts and textile narratives found in their social, political, economic and religious contexts.
I love to travel and I’m currently learning Spanish, hoping to discover South American textile crafts. Above all, I value relationships and enjoy meeting new people, often saying that while some collect board games or art, I collect friends.
What inspired you to start the podcast?
I started the podcast during a period of reflection after 20 years in smart textiles and wondering what I wanted to do for the next 20 years. Having participated in the development of smart textiles from its early days and navigated the often solitary and challenging path of innovation, what I wish I had during this time was a community of others who were on similar journeys, to learn from each other, to help each other.
This was the little spark that motivated me to create a community that brought together innovators who were radically changing the textile industry landscape, to share our experiences and learnings, to inspire and support each other. I wanted to tell the stories of others who are navigating this uncharted path and share their insights.
I felt it was important to democratise this knowledge, making it accessible to a broader audience and showcasing the incredible possibilities within textiles while changing the very way we imagine, make, use and dispose of textiles.
What impact do you hope the podcast will have, and what types of audiences are you aiming to connect with and why?
When I graduated with a textile degree in the summer of 2001, I stumbled upon the book Techno Textiles in a bookstore, and it completely turned my world upside down. I learned about integrating light into fabrics and using textiles as sensors, and I was instantly hooked. That book set me on an incredible 20-year adventure, transforming my career and ideas about the meaning, role, and function of textiles in ways I never imagined. I hope this podcast will spark curiosity, inspire and inform a diverse audience, and transform someone’s career as the book did for me.
My aim is to:
Ultimately, I want to build a community that supports each other and pushes the boundaries of textile innovation, reaching audiences from curious teenagers to industry professionals and startups.
What excites you most about textile innovation at the moment? Are there any particular innovators or trends in the industry that you are especially enthusiastic about?
I’m very excited about next-gen materials, but recently, I’ve become equally fascinated by the often-overlooked innovations in manufacturing processes, particularly in weaving. This might be because I love weaving. The 3D weaving technologies developed by companies like Unspun and Weffan, and the Digital Jacquard Handloom by Digital Weaving Norway, are truly revolutionary. I can’t wait to see how these areas evolve!
I am also curious about innovative recycling solutions, especially for blended fabrics and nylons. The CEO of Syntetica said, “We already have enough textiles in the world to make all the garments we need”. This is a powerful statement. Maybe we don’t need to create new textile materials but can maximise existing materials – this is an area I am following closely.
How do you see the future of textile innovation evolving over the next 5-10 years?
Using the Gartner Hype Cycle as a reference to answer this question, I believe we’re currently between the Innovation Trigger and Peak of Inflated Expectations stages. There is lots of interesting proof of concept, the media is all over it, we are all excited about the developments and the promises it makes. But in some areas like next-gen materials maybe we are already moving into the Trough of Disillusionment. In 5 years, I think we’ll likely reach the Slope of Enlightenment, and in 10 years, the Plateau of Productivity with mainstream adoption of some of these technologies.
Education in textiles and fashion will need to evolve radically to enable the evolution of these innovations. We must train people for future jobs, teaching fashion students to design for 3D weaving garments or equipping textile designers to work with biochemists to create new dyes. There needs to be a complete rethink about the skills we need in the next 5-10 years to drive textile innovations and impact the industry. Students need to be able to move more fluidly across disciplines.
Key areas of development include:
Overall, it’s such an exciting time, and the industry will likely look radically different in 10 years.
For those interested in learning more about textile and fashion innovation, could you recommend any books, articles, documentaries or other resources on the topic?
Staying true to her ethos, that ‘textiles matter,’ Mili’s belief that every fibre, every stitch, and every innovation can have an impact on our lives and the environment resonates deeply in today’s fashion climate. Curious to learn more? Tune in to the first two episodes of our exclusive mini-series with Mili here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1L4KAxUefaynGoVi1x0cns?si=2b84ea5055094413
You can also follow the podcast on instagram at @noordinarycloth.
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