Talking Textiles

“Talking Textiles” at the TextielMuseum in Tilburg is a large selection of design that uses innovative textile techniques, heralding the revival of textiles in our interiors.

Lidewij Edelkoort, trend forecaster and design curator, explains that “Talking Textiles” expands our perception of where textiles can take us: “After a reaction to the increasingly digital landscape of our lives, a craving for tactility and dimension has led designers to reconsider the role of fabrics once more. The near future will see the overwhelming return of textiles in our interiors, covering floors, walls and furniture in an expansive and personal manner. These textiles will speak loud and clear to become the fabrics of life, narrating stories, designing pattern, promoting well-being and reviving the act of weaving.”

The exhibition is part of an initiative to discuss textiles, highlighting the importance of creativity and education at a time when the global market has put many textile mills in danger of disappearing.

The exhibition will include textiles, rugs, curtains, lighting, accessories and upholstered furniture, but also multi-media installations, films, animations and digital printing techniques, as designers seek to extend textile’s boundaries and incorporate new technologies.

The 2013 “Talking Textiles” exhibition has been especially expanded for the TextielMuseum to include new or rarely seen items, some of them exhibited in the Netherlands for the first time: “Circus”, Fernando & Humberto Campana’s iconic doll rug made for Nodus; Maarten Baas using Rubelli textiles to reinvent his famous “Smoke” chair for Moooi; Josef Frank’s avant garde modernist “Beast” rug; upholstered furniture from the Parisian club Silencio, designed by David Lynch in collaboration with Raphael Navot; Brazilian design star Rodrigo Almeida’s chair homage to Rei Kawakubo; Ulf Moritz’s innovative interior textiles for Sahco; the 1929 graduation project of Anni Albers, an insulation textile recently released by Maharam.

Design Academy Eindhoven graduates will also be showcased as part of Edelkoort’s ongoing effort to promote fresh design talent, including a sensorial carpet by Italian designer Daniel Costa, intricately printed textiles by Dienke Dekker and fabric woven from wood by Lenneke Langenhuijsen.