Transmaterial

Casula

Using the most advanced technical procedures that the textile industry has to offer, Nanni Strada engineered a vibrant fabric that reacts to light. Out of this she constructed a religious garment that expresses the immateriality of sacredness.

"The invitation to rethink the casula, a ritual garment worn during religious ceremonies, provided a chance to take to the extreme an approach that I have unconsciously used in all my designs. Rather than working on the symbolic nature of the colours, I preferred to concentrate on the amount of light reflection. In this way I was able to work on the brilliantness and vibration of light. Gold has been used a great deal in sacred garments, but it is a metal that needs to be woven into the fabric. However, in modern times we see the use of a metallic yarn called Lurex. It is very shiny and used a lot in haute couture to decorate evening wear, producing results that are both sophisticatedand vulgar. My idea was to "laminate" the surface of the material in order to obtain an effect that is shiny and more metallic.

It is possible to alter the fabric's surface and give it the qualities of other materials (paper, plastic, metals) and/or transform it into a mutant material, creating a kind of process of crossbreeding. In the process of coupling, textile "leaves" or different materials are joined together. This fusion occurs by calendaring, passing the fabrics through cylinders that whirl round as well as altering the brightness simply by calibrating the number of passages and the speed of the cylinders. The different degrees of brilliance, levels of luminosity and the different perception linked to the vibration of the light are all important components of this design." - Nanni Strada. [via Domus October 2005; suggested by Midhat Delic, Seattle.]

posted by Blaine @ 4:49 PM