In the Company of Worms, Fashion and Compost with Anciela
In collaboration with the Design Museum, Anciela presented a preview of their SS26 collection as a celebration of fashion as an ecosystem. Inspired by interspecies empathy and the concept of More than Human, the exhibition currently on display at the museum, the showcase invited audiences to reimagine the relationship between design and nature.
Anciela invited visitors into an interactive installation in the Design Museum garden, where they became part of an evolving ecosystem of materials, organisms, and design.
As part of the London Design Festival and London Fashion Week, the installation explored regenerative principles shaped by multispecies collaboration and radical transparency.
The event featured an afternoon of conversations on composting and circular design with regenerative designer Bonnie Carr and Anciela’s Creative Director, Jennifer Droguett Espinosa, alongside a performance piece by dancer Margherita Barbieri and artist Naysla Droguett. Their work drew inspiration from Mother Earth and our evolving relationship with nature.
At the heart of the installation stood the Upcycled Sound Cocoon, a centrepiece crafted from reclaimed foam, wadding, and fabric offcuts collected over five years from Anciela’s studio. These included custom jacquards woven from NewLife® yarns, recycled from post-consumer PET bottles, produced in collaboration with textile designer Alice Timmis, alongside Portuguese cork and British wool. Accompanying the structure was a soundscape, The Life of a Worm — A Sound Journey Through Soil, composed by Alex Stanley, evoking the hidden ecosystems beneath our feet, where earthworms and countless organisms create the foundations for growth.
Through Digital Product Passports (DPPs) and Augmented Reality, in collaboration with SmartDPP,, every material and process was made visible, offering a fully traceable journey from waste to wearable, from soil to story. Archive classics were also reintroduced, including a backless midi dress and a cropped top, both made in the UK from Irish hemp and linen jacquard, fastened with corozo buttons, all fully compostable materials. These pieces were displayed on Anciela’s Upcycled Trees, created from reclaimed pine wood salvaged from IKEA furniture, wrapped in braided discarded garments sourced from the Traid Charity warehouse in London, and painted with leftover acrylic paint.
Margherita Barbieri wore The Earth Look, inspired by fertile soil, the grounding force of Mother Earth, and the dreamlike visions of Leonora Carrington. Rooted in the soil yet reaching into the realm of dreams, it honoured the earth as an enduring source of imagination and transformation.
The accompanying headpiece was made from reclaimed foam and deadstock pleated vintage 100% silk chiffon, donated by artist Allegra Hicks. The dress was embellished with plastic-free bio-sequins created by CQ Studio in London, crafted from fungi and dyed using natural pigments such as logwood, lac, Brazilwood, turmeric, spirulina, chlorella, and madder.
Completing the installation was Anciela’s wormery, a compost box established in 2021, demonstrating how the studio transforms fabric offcuts into fertile soil. Natural fibres, including cotton, hemp, linen, wool, Tencel, and silk were layered with food waste, garden matter, and soil. Over time, earthworms broke these down into nutrient-rich compost, ready to be returned to the earth to support new growth. The process reduces landfill and carbon emissions, closing the loop between fashion and nature. What begins as waste is transformed into nourishment, contributing to the natural systems of renewal.