The Swedish School of Textiles had created a darkened room on their stand at the Stockholm Furniture Fair’s Greenhouse, into which I wandered with some trepidation. I was immediately rewarded with something as intriguing as a Victorian freak show, but infinitely more beautiful, inspired by a brief to explore new light technologies in textiles. One of my favorite pieces was Malin Bobeck’s Droplet.
Ellinor Eliasson’s contribution to the show was entitled Shimiring Snow. She said, “The objective was to explore the expression of snow and its characteristics by combining light and weave.”
Frida Simonsson said, “I have examined how to create different characters through the fabric. The focus for me has been to portray fur by combining unexpected materials and light.”
Another one of my favorites, Joanna Vikström’s Aquatic integrates light, water, and fabric, which she said “feels like an unexplored area with many possibilities.” Aquatic was inspired by bioluminescence – organisms that produce their own light, which she tries to recreate in her fabric design.
Malin Bobeck’s second contribution, Flow, was inspired by the interaction of light and water. She said, “The goal was to make a fabric with multiple dimensions, by programming the lights to get a movement in the fabric even though it is motionless.”
And finally Layers of Time by Therese Amus Gidlöf: “I have explored how time and light interact in nature. This I have since transferred to a fabric in which some parties may download and gradually emit light.”
It’s no wonder their slogan is “We are the Swedish School of Textiles. Nothing is impossible!”
