Tengri design & production: Rosie Moorman Q&A

The work of Rosie Moorman, Head of Design & Production at Tengri, encompasses everything from research, design and technical testing to overseeing fabric production. In this wide-ranging Q&A, Rosie talks about her role at Tengri, the importance of fabric structure to textile design, the challenge of dyeing natural fabrics, and technological innovation.

How did you get into textile design and production?

I grew up in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which was once the heart of the British woollen trade. Growing up in a Mill town, I felt a strong connection to the industry just through my surroundings. My first job was as a haberdasher at a market just outside the Piece Hall, the UK’s last remaining cloth hall, which dates back to 1779. 

At Loughborough University I studied Textile Innovation & Design, specialising in Woven Textiles. As part of my degree, I spent a year working with a heritage footwear brand on their fabric developments and Made in England range. This involved design and development in the London office, sourcing from suppliers internationally, and shoe manufacturing in Northamptonshire.

I couldn’t understand why natural fibres such as wool weren’t being used in footwear, particularly at the bespoke level. Wool is naturally moisture wicking, hardwearing and thermal regulating, lending itself perfectly to a footwear application, so my interest grew in developing hand-woven woollen fabrics that would perform in footwear. 

At the same time, I began exploring small-scale sustainable dyeing processes for wools and animal fibres. The result was a collaborative collection of fully traceable footwear, manufactured wholly in the UK using only natural, biodegradable or recyclable materials, and made from handwoven, hand-dyed textiles.

Following graduation, I travelled extensively to show my collection, enabled by the prestigious Texprint programme, the Woolmark Company, and the Society of Dyers & Colourists. Working with these organisations and exhibiting my work in Paris, Shanghai and Colombo enabled me to work with some wonderful mentors.

Back in the UK, I took a position in the design department of a historic Yorkshire weaving mill, where I developed vital technical weaving and manufacturing knowledge. I worked with Tengri on a consultancy basis from 2017, after meeting Tengri’s founder and CEO Nancy at a textile show in London. We worked on developing Tengri Noble Fabrics and the Tengri x Joseph Cheaney footwear collection. In autumn 2020, I came on board as Head of Design & Production.

What does your role at Tengri encompass?

Much of my role is in forecasting and developing the technology behind Tengri fabrics. A lot of R&D work is trial and error, so we’re learning to push our fibres as far as they can go, whilst still working within the natural constraints of the material. Our yak and camel fibres are wondrously versatile, and their diverse natural properties make them suitable for so many applications.

I also oversee the Tengri fabric production process, from when our fibre arrives in the UK from the Khangai region of Mongolia, through to the delivery of the finished cloth from our manufacturing partners, and every process in between. Each yak is hand-combed in Mongolia in the spring, and generates only 100 grammes of precious fibre each year. This fibre is then hand-sorted by the herders into the four natural shades of cocoa, tan, silver and platinum. Silver fibre accounts for just 5-10% of Khangai yak fibres. We use virgin fibres, combed from the yaks when they shed their first winter coat. Producing 50 metres of our rare silver in a 500gsm fabric would require fibres to be combed from 250 baby yaks. The availability of this cloth is really dependent on the health of the land and animals – an under-appreciated aspect of the creation of our fabrics.

The fibre starts at my studio, where I work with the Tengri team and our manufacturing partners to develop beautiful yarns and fabrics. The journey from field to fibre to fabric is a lengthy one, and includes extensive periods of research and innovation before we have the final product. This process can take anything from 18-24 months as we work to perfect the transition between each stage of manufacturing, ensuring the Tengri cloth is made to the highest possible standard. It’s a real privilege to work with absolute masters of their craft at each stage of production.

You have a great knowledge of fabric structure. What are the main differences in how fabrics are constructed, for example between woven and knit fabrics?

Woven fabrics are traditionally made of intertwining horizontal (weft) and vertical (warp) yarns. The yarns are individual, but interconnected at a right angle to form a fabric. The most basic of weave structures, a plain or tabby weave, interlaces a single weft yarn with the warp yarns in an over-under motion, alternating with each weft yarn. Knitted fabrics, on the other hand, are made by looping together a single yarn using needles, in a continuous structure.

Knitted fabrics can stretch in length, width, and diagonally, due to the loop formation with a single yarn. Woven fabrics are more durable and hold their shape due to the tightly intertwined warp and weft yarns, with only a slight natural stretch on the bias.

Another form of fabric construction we are investigating is non-woven textiles, in which fibres are bonded together through processes such as felting. Non-woven fabrics do not stretch, and are known for holding their shape and structure, whilst being extremely durable.

From a designer’s perspective, how does knowledge of a fabric’s structure influence textile design? What are the implications for the finished product?

Fabric structure is absolutely vital to textile design, particularly when designing fabrics that need to perform in a certain way or in a certain environment. To create a fabric, you must start with the end result in your mind’s eye – a visualisation of the ‘dream’ fabric you are trying to achieve. You must be able to envision the fabric, its weight, how it will drape, and what it will be used for.

Once we have the concept for the fabric, we work in reverse, deciding on composition, which fibres will best lend themselves to the creation of this fabric, what yarn count will give the fabric the correct weight, how the loom will be set, and which weave structures and finishing processes will bring out the best in those fibres.

For example, when developing our limited-edition overcoating fabric, we were looking for a versatile fabric, with a target weight of 550g per linear metre. To achieve this weight in a strong and durable fabric using our Khangai yak yarn, we decided to use a twill weave in a double cloth structure. A double cloth uses two lots of warp threads, which are woven together to create a fabric with added weight and versatility. We used a 2x2 twill weave structure, which is created by crossing a single weft yarn over and under two warp yarns at a time. The 2x2 twill structure is known for creating a durable cloth, with excellent pilling resistance. 

The combination of each step of the manufacturing process is integral to obtaining the best outcome in our cloth. Each stage is interdependent; miss just one process, crop the fabric a millimetre too close, or mill for a minute too long, and the fabric will not have the desired result. This is why we work with industry partners who are experts in their field, ensuring the Tengri range is made to the highest possible standards.

With our collective expertise, the strong twill structure, added weight of the double cloth, finishing processes and of course the lustrous yak fibre, we were able to create an overcoating fabric with a stunning handle and liquid drape, a fabric which is naturally water repellent, has excellent thermal regulating properties and tailors beautifully. The process of developing the overcoating fabric took nearly two years from start to finish. To date we have woven enough fabric for just eight coats in the rare silver, making it one of our most limited cloths. Our platinum yak is even rarer – it would take nearly five years to produce a single ream of fabric. When the fibres are so precious, we can’t afford to make any mistakes.

Merlin Overcoat – Tengri Sky Capsule Collection AW19/20

The tactility of fabrics is a key aspect of their appeal. What were your first impressions of the handfeel of Tengri fabrics?

I had never worked with yak before, and what struck me was the richness and diversity of the natural tones of the fibre, and how soft it was. I trialled some initial ideas on the loom in my studio, and weaving the yarn was a dream. Handweaving is so reliant on tacit knowledge, as the name suggests, and touching every individual yarn as the cloth builds is a deeply mindful process.

When the fabric was cut from the loom, I was immediately struck by the drape, even in the fabric's unfinished state. Having handled the fibre, I had great expectations for the finished cloth, but these were far surpassed by reality. Those very early samples were part of the inspiration and initial development of what is now Tengri’s range of Noble Fabrics.

Almost all Tengri yarns are undyed, and woven into fabrics in their natural colours. In terms of environmental friendliness, what are the most effective methods of dyeing fibres, yarns and cloth?

Tengri Noble Fibres occur in the most exquisite natural shades. The environmental influence of the Khangai region of Mongolia gives its yaks a stunning range of colouration. For the majority of Tengri Noble Fabrics, we allow the natural tones to speak for themselves – cocoa, tan, camel, and the very rare, highly coveted, silver and platinum.

Alongside these natural shades, we offer a limited collection of dyed tones, which are dyed using specialist metal-free reactive dyes. All our dyed colours are overdyed on our darker shades of tan and cocoa. This presents challenges, because traditionally wool and animal fibres are bleached to a bright white before undergoing the dyeing process. Bleaching uses harsh chemicals to whiten the fibres, and can seriously damage the fibre quality. This is not the Tengri way, so we choose to highlight the beauty of our natural shades, overdying the rich tan and cocoa to achieve bold colours with depth and gentle, natural undertones.

We work with a family run dyehouse in Yorkshire that has been operating for over 70 years. They are masters of their craft and committed to responsible dyeing. The dyehouse is powered by solar energy, and uses water from their own stream. Once the dyeing process is complete, the water is recycled, extracting any residue from the dye, which is disposed of responsibly, and the clean water is returned to its source.

Our commitment at Tengri is to ensure that every process undergone by our materials in the journey from fibre to fabric is carefully considered. As well as our quest for non-pollutive, responsible dyeing methods, we use lower dyeing temperatures to preserve the quality and natural characteristics of our fibres; this also reduces energy consumption in the dyeing process.

Are there any specific aspects of textile production that would benefit from more innovation? How would you like to see the industry evolve?

As technology moves forwards, it’s so important that we keep exploring and moving forward with it. For me, the real need in the UK in particular is for smaller, lab-style facilities in a studio setting that allows for creative investigation of fibres and fabrics without a commitment to large minimum orders. In my dream world, this would encompass facilities for experimental dyeing, allowing greater exploration of natural dyes, as well as facilities for developing new fibre blends and yarns.

There is so much potential in the natural world, but often the industry lacks the facilities to harness this potential. It’s incredibly important for designers to be hands-on in the creation of a fabric, to understand the balance between possibilities and limitations. This would also push textile designers to innovate both on a technical and artistic level.

Helping to nurture innovation among designers – especially students and designers who are new to the industry – is hugely important at Tengri. That’s why the Tengri Innovation Award helps students, recent graduates and newly qualified tailoring professionals to pursue innovations while working in the industry, with an internship at Tengri. In fact, I was the first to test drive and inform the launch of this innovation programme after I graduated!

Tengri’s partnerships with academia and the industry are an inspiring part of my design and production role. Supporting the next generation of designers with industry experience, specifically with sustainable natural materials, is so important for the future.

Project moodboard from the Tengri Innovation Award 2019 winner – Sophie Høeg Jensen

During a show and tell session by winners of the Tengri Innovation Award 2018.

As well as your work with Tengri, you also run your own business, Rise & Woll, with your husband Will Evans. What led you to start this company, and what services do you offer?

We founded Rise & Woll in 2018 as a design consultancy, offering flexible textile design and manufacturing consultation to select clients in the fashion and interiors industry. As our work in interiors grew, we perceived a lack of sustainably made, artisanal homewares available in the UK. The sustainable homeware brands on the market often had a particular aesthetic, which wasn’t what we were looking for, but there was also an element of ‘greenwashing’ going on.

Many of the brands that offered ‘sustainable’ products were actually importing from wholesalers, and branding mass-manufactured products as green because they were made with natural materials, but with no information on how or where they were actually made. 

We wanted to create a range of accessible products that readdressed the value placed in sustainability, and in spring 2020 we launched our first range of artisanal handwoven tableware, textiles and homewares. We focus on using historic weaving techniques, and combine these with a contemporary aesthetic for the conscious consumer.

This was a direct response to seeing a lack of value placed in textiles, so we decided to reframe wovens as art pieces. Our woven artworks are inspired by the Yorkshire landscapes around us, and are framed in handmade FSC-certified English oak frames, made by a local artisanal woodworker.

We have three vintage manual looms from Scandinavia in the studio, and we use traditional handweaving practises to repurpose end-of-line and deadstock yarns, whilst exploring sustainable hand-dyeing. I weave all Rise & Woll products in our studio.