Back to EventsImagine: Material Stories
with Design Steward and Future Materials
Imagine: Material Stories is an exhibition in two parts that explores the new generation of regenerative textiles and materials that are making life – and the planet – healthier.
Combining global research and local innovation, Imagine: Material Stories reflects a shift away from fossil-fuel-based materials, introducing alternatives that are rich in creative possibility.
Lisa Piller (Design Steward) presents Walking in Circles, Regenerative stories of fibre, fabric and fashion in Western Australia. Celebrating Western Australia’s leadership in circular and regenerative textiles, it features five collaborative design capsules that transform WA-grown and recovered fibres – from Kimberley cotton, regeneratively farmed merino wool and recycled uniforms to seaweed and food-waste fibres – into tangible fashion garments that demonstrate the full lifecycle of circular design.
Featured designers and artists
Lisa Piller / Helen Coleman / Megan Salmon / Emma Buswell / Ocean Remedy
Project partners and collaborators
Natural Intelligence Farming/Prospect Pastoral / Uluu / Nanollose / Parks & Wildlife Service (DBCA) / Kimberley Cotton Company / ThreadUp Australia / Great Ocean Road (GOR) Woollen Mill / Michell Wool / Cashmere Connections / Deakin Institute for Frontier Materials/ARC Research Hub for Future Fibres / Pable / Knovus / Interknit Branberry
Funding support
RMIT University School of Fashion & Textiles / Australian Research Council / Cotton Research Development Corporation (CRDC)
Media production support
SoCo Studios
Ren Tapley is the founder of Future Materials, an online platform showcasing design-led, low-carbon, bio and circular building materials. Working with five Australian materials selected from the Future Materials collection, Renae – assisted by Mark Lilly (Manner Furniture) and Peter Kitley (UWA) – commissioned 16 emerging designers to create furniture and objects that showcase the potential for a circular design future.
From speakers in recycled plastic to a quilt made from repurposed denim, see how designers are pivoting to embrace alternative materials and aesthetics.
Featured designers and artists
Basim Boulos / Bella Davis / Cameron Crocker / Chelsea Williamson / Eliza Lawson / Jem Reyes-Malihan / Jeremy Yao / Julian Mason / Lachlan Willix / Louis de Saran / Louisa Peters / Lucas Allen / Ramona Zare / Saki White-Sugito / Stuart Confait / Timothy Murphy / Yomali Rekha
Materials partners
saveBOARD / Defy Design / Planet Protector / Crafted Hardwoods / Durra Panel / Søuld
Join us for Opening Night on 16 October – RSVP is essential.
Open times:
Opening Night, Friday 16 Oct, 6.30pm – 9pm
Saturday 17 Oct, 10am – 5pm
Sunday 18 Oct, 10am – 5pm
Monday 19 Oct – Friday 23 Oct, 11am – 4pm
Saturday 24 Oct, 10am – 5pm
Sunday 25 Oct, 10am – 5pm
Image: Stef King
Lisa Piller
Lisa Piller is a designer, researcher, curator and creative producer working across circular and regenerative fashion and textile systems. With more than 30 years’ experience spanning fashion design, product development, education and creative practice, her work connects design with industry, community and place. As the 2025 Australian Sustainability Fellow, Lisa undertook international research across Asia and Europe exploring circular and regenerative textile systems. She is currently undertaking a PhD at RMIT University, where her creative practice research, Walking in Circles, brings together Western Australian designers, makers and material innovators to explore how collaborative place-based design practice can contribute to regenerative textile futures.
Renae Tapley
Renae is an Associate Director at Foolscap Studio with over 20 years leading interior architecture projects, and a driving force for sustainable building materials in Australia’s construction industry. She’s the founder of Future Materials, a marketplace platform connecting designers, builders and manufacturers with low carbon, circular products – a passion project backed by a 2023 WA Government Innovation Booster Grant and a 2023 Churchill Fellowship researching green materials innovation in global markets. Alongside her Bachelor of Arts in Interior Architecture (Honours) from Curtin University, Renae is a Green Star Accredited Professional, a member of MECLA and has volunteered internationally with Architects without Frontiers.