Students from The Swedish School of Textiles University of Borås exhibited at New Designers 2016. Three of the weavers are profiled below.

Johanna Samuelsson

Surface Synergy - Woven 3D texture merged with pattern

Surface Synergy – Woven 3D texture merged with pattern, is an innovative textile project that explores digital jacquard woven textures in combination with pattern. A digital visualising tool is used to create complex multilayered bindings that in combination with carefully chosen materials transform the flat textile surface into a patterned 3D-texture.

Textile designer Johanna Samuelsson explains that shrinking is used to transform the flat surface into a texturized one. At the same time as the pattern is created in the loom, also the texture is formed. Or rather, there is an interwoven ability for shrinking; this action of transformation is planned at the same time as the rest of the weave. As long as it is held   in the loom, the fabric is under tension and little shrinking can occur. First after cutting down and steaming, the final result of the shrinking can be seen. This work proposes on-loom effects requiring minimal finishing processes.

Woven patterns, such as plaid and houndstooth, are updated by merging with texture, twisting the traditions of the flat patterned surface. One of the strength with mixing pattern with texture is the concept of sensory manipulation. Johanna states ”I think that if a design, somehow breaks with the assumed aesthetic, or its traditions, we might look upon the object and start to really see it, just because it is distorting with over expectations. I think that a texturised textile has the power to evoke curiosity since its dynamic surface distorts the pattern and breaks up the ground surface into several visual elements.”

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Josephine Ortega
My project investigated the perception of ‘comfort’ and culminated in concept proposals for transport seating. In order to define this abstract notion, I explored where and when people feel at their most comfortable through a questionnaire. The documentation of these answers through photography allowed for the visualisation of comfort to become more transparent, which ultimately meant that the concept of ‘comfort’ could become tangible and definite, making it easier to depict. The main visual inspiration taken from an individual’s home and swimming pool were translated into the designs through extracting elements that referenced colour, pattern and yarn choice.

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