Blending tradition and technology in fashion

Weaving past into future 

Pervez's love for textiles runs deep. Growing up in Pakistan, she was surrounded by the rich tradition of handcrafted garments, especially her grandmother's intricate hand-stitching of wedding outfits. 

"My family was always sewing something," she recalls.

That early exposure sparked a passion that eventually led her to the College of Art and Design in Lahore.

During her studies, a visit to a textile factory became a turning point. Seeing the harsh realities of mass production firsthand sparked her determination to find a better way. 

"I remember walking into a factory and being hit by the strong chemical smell. Then I stepped outside and saw a swamp of bleached and dyed water. I thought, 'That's not good.'" 

After completing her textile studies, Pervez moved to Doha, Qatar, to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Design. The program’s interdisciplinary approach expanded her understanding of fashion's global impact and how industries intersect. 

"For the first time, I saw the industry from the outside – how increasing consumption in the West drives production and affects the climate in manufacturing regions," she says. 

These experiences deepened her resolve to challenge fast fashion, which has made clothing cheap and disposable. Many garments are worn only a few times before being discarded, and most are made from synthetic fabrics that shed microplastics, polluting our land, air and waterways. 

"Synthetic fabrics like Lycra and polyester are basically plastic," Pervez explains. 

"When we wear or wash them, tiny fibres break off and can enter our oceans, harming marine life and coral reefs. Those fibres can even end up in our bodies." 

She's also critical of the fashion industry's reliance on recycled plastics, arguing that this approach is both unhealthy and unsustainable. 

"Fashion has become a dumping ground for plastics, and once they are hidden in clothing, they don't decompose, so we're just delaying the landfill crisis." 

The damage isn't just environmental. Fast fashion also comes with a profound social cost. 

In countries with weak labour laws, workers are often exploited to meet the demand for cheap, fast-changing trends. Meanwhile, unsold clothes from countries like Australia are shipped abroad to places like China, Pakistan and Bangladesh – offloading waste onto other communities. 

"What we buy and throw away doesn't just affect us, it has consequences globally," Pervez says. 

For Pervez, the solution is clear: a return to mindful garment-making practices that prioritise quality over quantity and sustainability over speed. 

A return to tradition – with a twist

Pervez's journey into sustainable athleisure began when she moved to Australia to complete her Master of Philosophy (MPhil). She realised that material choice and high production volumes were central to fashion's sustainability problem and decided to rethink garment production from the ground up.

"Firstly, if we don't address materials, the product remains flawed," she says. 

"We used to wear linens and cotton, styling them up or down. Now, probably 80% of our wardrobe is just microplastics." 

Her MPhil research focused on creating stretch fabrics without plastics, drawing inspiration from a time when garments had natural stretch and breathability, and clothes were made by hand. But as she delved deeper into traditional techniques and materials, she became curious about how modern technology could enhance her vision. 

"I had gone so far back to basics, I needed to see how technology could fit back in," she reflects. 

This curiosity led her to UTS, where she is now pursuing a PhD that combines textiles, sustainability and cutting-edge technology. UTS's advanced tech capabilities and mentorship from Associate Professor Timo Rissanen, known for his work in zero-waste design, played a key role in her decision. 

"Rissanen's work exemplifies how design can work with, not against, sustainability," she says. 

At UTS, she also discovered the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, where she benefits from knowledge sharing and networking across industry and innovation – all crucial in supporting her research. 

Now in her third year, Pervez is committed to removing plastics and chemicals from athleisure while slowing down production through a made to order approach. She uses natural materials like Australian merino wool without dyes or synthetic reinforcements. 

"I believe in creating interest through textile structure, not chemicals.” 

By avoiding synthetic materials, her designs won't break down into microplastics, instead returning to the Earth and closing the loop on waste.

Technology meets sustainable design 

When Pervez began exploring new ideas for athleisure, she turned to AI to get some direction. But what started as curiosity quickly became a key part of her research into sustainable fashion. 

"I spent hours inputting and tweaking the prompts," Pervez recalls. 

"It became a whole three-hour session of 'No, give me this instead.'" 

At first, the AI gave her typical fast fashion designs – shiny, synthetic and plastic-heavy. Her early experiments showed black tights, polyester fabrics and mainstream looks. 

Determined to push past these limits, she refined her prompts to guide the AI toward designs using natural materials and sustainability. 

"You have to be very precise," she explains. 

"I now have extremely long AI prompts that specify every detail of the design, from concept to materials and structure." 

Over time, this process became a creative partnership. By combining AI's capabilities with her knowledge of textiles, Pervez is creating innovative designs that challenge what athleisure can be. 

"People see my work and say, 'That doesn't look like athleisure’," she says. 

"But to me, that's the point. It's not just about how it looks, it's about how it functions within nature’s cycle and how it performs." 

AI also helps her test ideas before making anything. She shares AI-generated designs on social media to gather feedback, allowing her to refine hundreds of ideas into a few final garments. This approach reduces waste by avoiding overproduction. 

"I don't have to guess what people will like – I can see what resonates before anything is produced," she says. 

While some worry AI might replace human creativity, Pervez views it like any other piece of technology we use to help our work. 

"AI won't replace human creativity, history or culture – it's a support tool," she says. 

In fashion, this technology can improve forecasting, streamline production and enable personalised sizing, all of which will help to reduce waste. 

"It's about making smarter decisions and reducing inefficiencies," she explains. 

Beyond AI, Pervez's work uses advanced manufacturing technology to bring her digital designs into physical reality. Once she finalises a design concept, the next step is translating it into an actual sample or garment. This is where the Shima Seiki WHOLEGARMENT knit machine – the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere – becomes essential to her process. 

"It's like 3D printing a garment – it's highly advanced but not widely used in mainstream fashion," she explains. 

This special machine creates entire pieces in one seamless process. The machine is programmed with specific inputs, and it produces garments without cuts or waste, ensuring almost every bit of yarn gets used. 

"Once the garment is produced, we refine details like collars and cuffs, just like traditional craftsmanship," she says. 

This seamless method supports her vision for low-waste, made-to-order fashion that combines traditional materials with cutting-edge technology – creating clothes that are both innovative and sustainable. 

Looking ahead

Pervez believes the fashion industry needs systemic change. Instead of measuring success by the volume of garments sold, she advocates for mindful purchasing and greater transparency. 

“We’ve become accustomed to instant gratification – clicking ‘buy’ and getting our clothes right away,” she says. 

“But what if we slowed down? Imagine ordering a garment made just for you, with care and attention to detail.” 

As part of her research, Pervez is embracing this approach. She is creating 10 to 15 full garments through three production phases, refining her designs at each stage based on real-world feedback. 

Her process starts with AI-generated concepts but bringing them to life requires extensive sampling on the Shima Seiki machine. She works closely with Shirley Tam, a technician at UTS to perfect the materials and construction before producing any full pieces. 

“It’s a hands-on process,” she says. 

“During sampling, we test everything – from texture to wool gauge to stitch count – to see how the materials feel and respond to movement.” 

“Design happens through your hands. Every time I hold a sample, I ask myself: Can this be better? Could this be done differently? 

“The challenge is knowing when to stop. With every sample I have more questions and more AI prompts to achieve the best result.” 

Once the sampling phase is complete, she moves on to full garments, testing how her sustainable materials perform in real-life wear. 

To refine her designs, Pervez and a small group will wear the pieces, assessing fit, comfort, performance and durability. Each round of feedback will build on the last, ensuring continuous improvement through each phase. 

“This process is ongoing, and while it’s challenging, the support I’ve received at UTS – the freedom to explore, the mentorship, the industry connections – has been invaluable,” she says. 

Pervez’s research is deeply personal, driven by concerns about the environment and the health impacts of toxins and microplastics in clothing, and shaped by her connection to craftsmanship and textile traditions. She envisions a future where garments are thoughtfully made and part of a circular system where technology and sustainability work hand in hand. 

“We don’t have to accept fashion as harmful. The whole process can be rethought,” she says. 

Through her work, Pervez hopes to inspire a shift in how designers, brands and consumers approach fashion – toward garments made with care, designed for longevity and valued beyond trends.