Material Driven Design, R&D, Weave
2025
“Banana as matter” speaks about the matter of a banana plant as a rich material resource.
“Tradition as knowledge” acknowledges the wisdom embedded in how communities have historically worked with the plant.
The project explores how the long-overlooked traditional knowledge of banana stem fibre can be investigated through its material characteristics. Historically, banana fibre was used to make ship ropes due to its water resistance, buoyancy, and durability in seawater. It was also woven into ceremonial kimonos for its silk-like sheen, breathability, and ideal stiffness. Qualities that made it both luxurious and functional.
Photography by Alana Fernandez & Jasmine Dhika
Banana fibre supplied by Serat Al-Fiber
It is about rediscovering the banana plant as a carrier of memory, place, and ancestral knowledge.
Yet today, banana fibre, derived from agricultural waste, offers a new potential. It allows us to produce textiles without extra land or irrigation, since it comes from the by-product of banana harvests.