As a designer-engineer, Yolanda Leask develops sustainable textiles and nonwovens. Her specialism lies in applying nonwoven technology to design-led applications. She developed the material innovation Cloudwool®, designed to be the first affordable, mass-produced, circular, pure wool fabric made in Europe this century.
As a trained textile designer who thinks like an engineer and economist, Yolanda is uniquely positioned to build bridges between the cost-efficient production technologies of nonwoven textiles and the aesthetic demands of fashion, interiors and design-led textile markets. Yolanda leverages her extensive knowledge of nonwoven and textile production techniques and her deep understanding of textile and fashion design to help clients meet sustainability criteria and product specifications.
Yolanda has proven experience leading successful public-funded R&D projects and commercial textile development projects for renowned companies such as Volkswagen and Balenciaga.
Talks and Guest Lectures
Cloudwool® – Why we need industrial-scale solutions to the wool crisis 15 minute solo lecture, and subsequent group panel discussion on the topic of circular resources, given at ‘greenlab symposium 14.0: cohabitation – transforming spaces’ in April 2025 at Berlin Weißensee School of Art and Design, on invitation of Professor Dr. Zane Berzina
Cloudwool ® – a sustainable fabric for fast fashion? 20 minute presentation and Q&A given in June 2024 as part of Textile Week 2024 at Design Zentrum Hamburg.
Problematic gatekeepers: From shepherds to patents, certification and investments (an outline of barriers to entry for SMEs in the circular and regenerative wool space) 15 minute presentation given in June 2023 at the event Talking Wool, organised by Berlin Humboldt University Cluster of Excellence Matters of Activity.
Cloudwool® – Why we need industrial-scale solutions to the wool crisis 45 minute guest lecture given in April 2023 to students at TU Braunschweig – Institut für Architekturbezogene Kunst, on invitation of Professor Folke Köbberling.
Industrial Felt : Nonwoven vs Traditional Manufacturing Methods and potential areas for design innovation. 45 minute guest lecture and 15 minute Q&A given digitally in November 2021 as input for the design studio project ‘Felt and Fold‘ in the department of Textile and Material Design at Berlin Weißensee School of Art and Design
Wool for Future – Claudia Skoda, Yolanda Leask of Doppelhaus Ltd representing Cloudwool®, Modus Intarsia, Fashion Changers Panel discussion on the topic of wool’s future prospects, which took place in November 2021 at PLATTE Berlin, the city’s space for promoting indie fashion labels.
Cloudwool® – which certificates make sense regarding sustainable wool? Project presentation in January 2017 at the Fachtag Ecodesign für Hochschulen, Umweltbundesamt Dessau organised by Oekopol GmbH