Bisson Bruneel was the first fabrics editor to introduce abaca into their collections over 20 years ago, with thereference “simple d’abaca”.
First a little reminder of this wonderful natural and ecological fiber.
Abaca, also known as Manila Hemp, comes from an endemic species of banana tree. The fiber is extracted from the heart of the plant’s trunk.
80% of Abaca’s production is used for paper feet and 20% for textiles.
Sorted into five quality levels (from the thinnest to the thickest), the fibers are knotted by hand to obtain skeins. Each piece is woven manually on traditional looms in wood or metal.
The variations in color of abaca in weaving are inherent in the seasons and places of harvest of the fiber. These variations give each feature its unique and exceptional side.
This ancestral Filipino know-how in woven braiding and hand woven in vegetable fibers revisited by French designers promotes great creativity to make blinds, Japanese panels or wall covering.
Abaca mixes with many other materials, such as copper, leather, plastic, and makes very creative and innovative fabrics.
The use of Abaca also respects the concern to work with natural fibers and contribute to the protection of the planet.
There is no deforestation, the banana is not uprooted, the trunk is cut 40 cm from the ground and the plant regrows in two years. The trees are scattered throughout the wild and are not planted according to the intensive production method.
Some figures to better understand the production of Abaca:
2 years for the plant to mature
6 Abaca trunks to make fifteen meters of fabric
5 to 7 days to tie a kilo of fiber
1 day to weave 1.5 to 2 meters of fabric
10 days to get a roll of 21 meters
Since its first collection “Simple d’abaca”, bisson bruneel has been developing and innovating each year with creations where abaca is mixed with other materials, such as copper, imitation leather, jeans or other threads recycling.
The abaca makes it possible to make and realize blinds or sliding panels with a sometimes raw rendering but also very elaborate depending on the mixtures in the weaving.
