Talking Textiles: An Initiative Curated by Lidewij Edelkoort | Milan 2011.

Talking Textiles exhibition, held at Spazio Gianfranco Ferré. Image courtesy of Trend Tablet.

Top –Laurence Couraud, Little Red Riding Hood (2010), wool felt. Bottom Left – Studio Job, Blood (2011). Production: TextielLab at Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg. Bottom Right – Marina Faust, Parasite (2011), polystyrene & mohair.

Top – Fernando & Humberto Campana, Circus Rug (2010). Hand knotted rug for Nodus. How CRAZY is it? Bottom Left – Alejandro Bona. ECAL, Lausanne – Chair, Lamp, Stool, 882m (2009). Synthetic rope. Bottom Right – Carolina Wilcke, Kamerrekwisiet (2010), wood & yarn.

Top – Nacho Carbonell, Trial Vases (2010) – textile & plaster. Available at Spazio Rossana Orlandi. Bottom Left – Christien Meinderstma, Aran (2010) & Ottoman Texelaar (2010) – knit wool. Production: Thomas Eyck. Available at Spazio Rossana Orlandi. Bottom Right – Ooh La Laa & Co, Ink Chair (2011).

Top – ‘Kawakuboo’ (right) and ‘Rei’ (left) by Rodrigo Almeida. Bottom – Johanneke Procee, Droomwerk – Office Furniture for Naps (2010). Wool felt, leather & wood.

I am so excited to share with you one of my absolutely favourite Milan moments – Talking Textiles, an initiative curated by Lidewij Edelkoort. Edelkoort is a dutch trend forecaster and curator of design, and for this exhibition she collaborated with Rossana Orlandi (I cannot stop talking about this woman, can I?). The event took place at the beautiful and highly prestigious Spazio Gianfranco Ferré on via Pontaccio in Brera, where the brand has presented its fashion shows since the building’s inauguration in 1998. Absolutely stunning space.

The exhibition showcased a large selection of design that uses innovative textile techniques, heralding the revival of textiles in our interiors. On displayed were functional and more abstract/ artistic pieces such as curtains, furniture, lighting, rugs, accessories, as well as multimedia installations, digital animations and film projections.

Top image shows works by Bokja, Ardmore,Kiki van Eijk & Katarzyna Markiewicz. Bottom Left – Raffia Cord (1929) by Anni Albers (in production by Maharam) as upholstery for Dickie edition by Anthony Kleinepier for Moooi. Bottom Right. Images courtesy of Trend Tablet.

Top – Christien Meinderstma‘s work in foregrounds. On the wall is a textile by Claudy Jongstra titled Moving Landscape (2011) – dreanthe heath wool, silk & merino wool. Bottom two images –  Scholten & Baijings, Vegetables (2009). Hand-made textile collection: Museum Boijmans van Beuningen. Images courtesy of Trend Tablet.

Top – Borre Akkersdijk, Ready Made (2010) – mohair, merino wool, acrylic & polyamide jacquard double?weave. Production by Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg. Bottom Left – Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters, Waterloop (2010) – digital prints on unbleached cotton yarn. Production by Audax Textielmuseum Tilburg. Bottom Right – Brecht Duijf, Bodycloth (2010) – screenprint on silk. Available through Chi Ha Paura…? Images courtesy of Trend Tablet.

Top – On the wall is ‘Exercise in Style’ (1993, re-edited 2009) by Ravage. In foreground is ‘Knit Chair’ (2010) by Soojin Kang. Collection: Piera Antonelli, Milano. Bottom Left – Embroidered cushion (2010) by Nathalie l’Eté. Bottom Right – detail of fabric designed by Hella Jongerius for Maharam. Images courtesy of Trend Tablet.

Edelkoort explains that after a “reaction to the increasingly digital landscape of our lives, a craving for tactility and dimension has lead several designers to reconsider the role of fabrics once more. The near future will see the overwhelming revival of textiles in our interiors, covering floors, walls and furniture in an expansive and personal manner. These textiles will speak loud and clear and become the fabrics of life, narrating stories, designing pattern, promoting well-being and reviving the act of creative weaving”.

This was one truly beautiful and intelligent exhibition, with a lovely sentiment and a whole lot of heart.

EXTREME LOVE!

And just cause I love you guys (and also cause I’m a massive images junky), here are some super exciting press images which got my heart pumpin’. Hot or what? Shown here are ‘Paraite’ by Marina Faust, ‘Knit Chair’ by Soojin Kang and those incredible ‘Vegetables’ by Scholten & Baijings. I saw the ‘Vegetables’ at Spazio Rossana Orlandi last year (remember?) and I could have sworn they were real veggies. Absolutely incredible stuff. Images courtesy of Trend Tablet.

Top – Fold Unfold (2009) by Margrethe Odgaard for HAY. Digital print on cotton with reactive dyes. Bottom – Coiling Collection (2010) by Raw Edges. Silicone, wood and wool felt. Editions:FAT galerie, Paris. Images courtesy of Trend Tablet.

[Unless otherwise noted, all images © yellowtrace.]