A JOURNEY TO THE ROOTS

Ebru Corches

I foresee much more involvement in natural dyeing in the future of fashion industry as a sustainable practice.

I chose Madder Root as dye material for this particular project. It is a legendary dye, no doubt, which changed the course of the history. It contains more than 15 different dye compounds. Skilled dyers kept their recipes as secret for centuries, so that not many can reach the bright perfect red that Madder provides.

It is such a timeless dye and exists since the prehistorical times. Most importantly, it represents a connection for me with my birthland Turkey and the Netherlands where I currently live.
In Anatolia Turkey red was widely used especially on the rugs some of which survived for centuries without fading.

In Zeeland a very high quality madder was produced and used up until the mid 19th century. I find this common cultural heritage very inspiring when I started my project. Natural dyeing helped me to connect with my new land because it brought my attention on the nature which is very beautiful and accessible in the Netherlands.