Kate Goldsworthy

Kate Goldsworthy is Course Coordinator, MA Textile Futures at Central Saint Martins College. Kate is a textile designer and researcher in the area of new finishing technologies, materials R&D and design for recycling. Her work has been exhibited internationally and she is currently undertaking a practice based PhD as part of the AHRC funded project 'Ever & Again; rethinking recycled textiles' based at Chelsea College of Art & Design. 

PhD Project (2005 - 2009)
An exploration of ‘design for forward recycling' through laser finishing techniques for synthetic textiles

This research has sought to explore ‘mono-materiality' as a feature of ‘interim' textile products, developing new production and finishing techniques, specifically for the cycles of polyester fibre-recycling (a fibre representing over 50% of the global market).

Textile processing often creates barriers to these existing systems, by irreversibly mixing materials with different recycling needs. These complex hybrid materials designed in the ever-increasing drive for performance and functionality, leave a legacy
of waste and prevent inclusion in recurrent fabrications. In an attempt to design for a future ‘closed-loop polyester economy', ways of forming and surfacing this synthetic material were explored which could facilitate production of complex, functional yet fully
mono-material (and therefore recyclable) textiles.