Exhibiting Fashion

I don’t agree with Li Edelkoort’s assertion that textiles are going extinct.  While I do share her alarm at the disappearance of professions that are related to the traditional textile industry (weavers, dyers, finishers), in reality what is happening is that our approach and relationship to textiles is shifting.  Textiles today are simultaneously  being brought into the highest spheres of industry (used in architecture, machinery, cars, etc) while at the same time having a revival in both the high design and crafts/DIY spheres - they are not disappearing any time soon. As the slow cloth/fashion movement grows alongside the development of even higher-tech fabrics, textiles will become even more enmeshed in our daily lives.

Above is an interview where Edelkoort talks about her perception of how textiles are disappearing, but then suggests that in actuality, things are looking up.  Her exhibition this past month in Milan called Talking Textiles aims to celebrate textiles in design, including established textile designers like Claudy Jonstra and Maharam alongside emerging graduates in Europe.