Future Archive is the ongoing fashion project of Naarm/Melbourne based fashion practioner Melanie Read, blending speculative design, sustainable systems thinking, and hands-on textile experimentation. 

Drawing from both local traditions and global challenges, Future Archive investigates how materials and making processes can shape a more sustainable and socially engaged fashion future.

An Exploration of Textile Reuse and Crafting Techniques

In July, Future Archive will complete a one-month artist residency at Lottozero in Prato, Italy, followed by further research and project development in broader Italy and Paris. 

This project takes its name from the infamous 1497 Bonfire of the Vanities, when followers of reformist friar Girolamo Savonarola set ablaze luxurious garments, cosmetics, and artworks in a public rejection of Renaissance excess. Today we face new bonfires: The routine destruction of unsold designer stock to protect brand exclusivity; the 2025 fire that ravaged Ghana’s Kantamanto Market - a global hub for secondhand fashion; and the burning mountains of fast fashion waste in Chile’s Atacama Desert. 

These contemporary bonfires beg two questions: Are we so vain that we would let the planet burn for the false economy of fast fashion luxury? And what is real luxury in the face of fast fashion and insatiable consumption?

The Future Archive, items No. 1 - No. 15

Why Lottozero?

Lottozero Textile Lab is a creative space for textile innovation, located in Prato — a significant textile and fashion district. Here, the past and future coexist: from centuries-old wool recycling traditions to advanced industrial techniques.

This time at Lottozero will be an opportunity to investigate how design can critically map, question, and reimagine the systems behind textile production, bridging research, experimentation, and local knowledge.

Working in the Lottozero lab with tools like the FeltLoom and digital embroidery machine, this project explores how waste materials collected throughout the region can be transformed into new prototypes and samples. Through this hands-on process, Future Archive engages directly with Prato’s unique material flows and industrial ecosystems.

During this time at Lottozero, Future Archive will engage with Prato’s historic textile industry, particularly the city’s renowned recycled wool supply chain, one of the most advanced and longest-standing circular economies in the world. Lottozero will help in exploring the district through guided visits to mills and production sites, and in connecting with key figures in the textile recycling sector.

Future Archive item No. 7 Tartan uniform skirt; Custom Big Squish bag with Archive No. 7 pockets

What You’re Funding

Your support will help bring Bonfire of the Vanities to life by covering key expenses for the residency, research, and further developing this body of work after the residency. 

Residency and Materials

• One-month residency at Lottozero Textile Lab, including consultation with industry experts

• Access to the lab’s equipment and workspace for hands-on textile experimentation

• Materials needed for testing and developing the work

Sharing of Work

• A publication outcome summarising the research and hands on experimentation in the Lottozero lab

• Further developing this experimentation into a body of work