Tag: Milan

The Internet of Things

Jan Agelink talked about it in his trend presentation at Modefabriek. Internet is not only in computers anymore but in all kind of objects that are around us. During the Milan Salone del Mobile, designer Pieke Bergmans presented together with Lustlab the project Res Sapiens. A project that merges the digital world with the physical. It brought up a lot of questions about how our life is changing in a very fast way through the digital revolution. The demonstration of Res Sapiens showed 13 ordinary IKEA lamps on one table. They used the continuous stream of twitter tweeds as their mental energy. According the sentiment of the tweeds they lighted up, moved and projected differently. It looked like if the lamps had facial expressions and by showing these they became like personalities. The fuse of product and information design is making in this way technology invisible, working and building on humanizing the unhuman.

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.