Industrial Craft

Can industrial weaving embody a sense of the handcrafted? At the Salone del Mobile in Milan this year, Vitra presented Vlinder – an ‘haute couture’ sofa designed by Hella Jongerius. “Today it is becoming increasingly important to have a haptic environment, something real to touch... With Vlinder, I show what textiles can do if you break the boundaries of traditional manufacturing,” she says. Vlinder’s large-format textile pattern comprises seven different jacquard weaves in a collage of intertwined textures and colours that’s reminiscent of historical tapestries. “A team of textile engineers and hand weavers joined forces to make this unique design possible,” Jongerius explains. “It shows a new way of producing a ‘one-off’ pattern,” she says, “combining the human touch of crafts with the possibilities of digital technology.” In Singapore, Vitra is availablefromtheVitraStorebyW.Atelier.