Tag: Lidewij Edelkoort

Li Edelkoort on summer 2013

Lidewij shared her vision on summer 2013 last week and, if she has her way, rays of light will penetrate the darkness. We live in anxious, uncertain and worrisome financial times – and this has been going on for quite some time now. Anxiety and uncertainty have reigned since the beginning of this century, with the events of 9/11 marking a major turning point.

The entire world is suffering in so many ways: financially, currency-wise, healthwise, environmentally, not to mention the turmoil in the Middle East and the shifting of powers and authority around the globe. We need to find a way to make peace with our current reality, given that a fast and sweeping positive change may not come any time soon. We try to find happiness in the small things in life, in spending time and sharing with each other, in the small moments of joy, in the bliss of daily spirituality and the longing for a lightness of being.

Summer 2013 will be super light, literally, thanks to a combination of loads of whites with colour, the use of beautiful light materials, and by combining white and colourful patterns. Light yet voluminous knitting yarns will dominant knitwear, and there will be plenty of white bleached wovens and linen or, alternatively, clean white materials like ottoman, crispy cotton and luxury thin jersey.

Romantic, large, loose white collars are the new accessory and white will be found in clean-cut, simple, Celine-like designs. Other prominent elements will be white shirts in an incredibly wide amount of variation, including dresses, shirts and girly blouses.

Summer will be refreshing, optimistic and super light!

an overture of design

Visiting Milan is always a treat, especially during the Salone di Mobile in April: an overture of design. I cycled for days through Milan on a bicycle rented from a beautiful shop where they design their own bicycles in olive green or fiat 500 red.

One of the most inspirational exhibitions was the TALKING TEXTILES presentation, curated by Lidewij Edelkoort. She is regarded as a visionary and specialises in the art of textiles.

Modern design methods will soon  become a problem for the worlds of textiles, furniture and fashion. The traditional vibe of textiles is characterised by the essence of extreme luxury and soft, colourful materials. Intricate and beautiful embroidery, multicoloured weaves, yarns, knitwear and prints will become more and more expensive, eventually becoming a dying breed.

Lidewij therefore demonstrates the beauty and importance of textiles by means of all kinds of designs. The softness, the immense possibilities and the beauty of textiles will hopefully be of interest to all kinds of suppliers, designers and consumers.

After all, where would we be without colourful tie-dye scarves, embroidered garments crafted by ancient cultures, well-designed prints or the warmth of cashmere and wool yarns?

An inexhaustible variation of textiles is essential to the future of fashion and design.