At Design Indaba’s 25th edition, Global Graduate Elissa Brunato shared her work that draws attention to ability of material innovation to reshape entire industries. Starting with something as small and seemingly trivial, as a sequin, Brunato’s project challenges one of fashion’s most overlooked problems, the environmental impact of embellishment.
Sequins, widely used across the global fashion industry, are typically made from petroleum-based plastics and contain toxic chemicals. They are nearly impossible to recycle and contribute significantly to microplastic pollution. Brunato’s response is both scientific and poetic. By harnessing cellulose, a natural compound found in plants, Brunato developed bio-iridescent sequins that shimmer without pigments, metals or synthetic coatings. Their colour comes from structural properties within the material itself, mimicking the way beetle wings or butterfly surfaces reflect light. The result is a material that is compostable, non-toxic, and produced through a waste-free process, yet visually indistinguishable from its plastic counterpart. Brunato’s talk reframes sustainability not as compromise in aesthetic but as a testament that beauty and responsibility can coexist.
