16
Q&A with Hella Jongerius
Hella Jongerius in her studio in Berlin
Working with Vitra is for me a relationship that is
based on respect and trust. We both want to push
boundaries – and be the best. The result – Vlinder –
is a piece of high-end engineering in textiles.
16
Q&A with Hella Jongerius
Hella Jongerius in her studio in Berlin
Working with Vitra is for me a relationship that is
based on respect and trust. We both want to push
boundaries – and be the best. The result – Vlinder –
is a piece of high-end engineering in textiles.
17
What is your personal interest in textiles?
We live in a world of fast-changing fashion, in which
textiles have become a throw-away product. We are
losing skills – like the craft of weaving, with its richness
and quality of textiles and the expression that it has.
And we also live in a digital world. Today it is becoming
increasingly important to have a haptic environment,
something real to touch – a tactile, rich skin. With
Vlinder, I show what textiles can do if you break the
boundaries of traditional manufacturing.
What sets the Vlinder Sofa apart?
Vlinder has the archetypical shape of a contemporary
sofa but its elaborate production and handcrafting
transform it into a unique masterpiece. I was assisted
by hand weavers and a team of textile engineers from
Vitra, who all joined forces to make this novel design
possible. Vlinder embodies a new kind of tailored
“one-off” pattern, an haute couture sofa that combines
the human touch of crafts with the possibilities of
digital technology. In addition to the outstanding cover,
the sofa offers ultimate comfort due to the soft padding
made of multi-layered foam, in combination with the
pillow-like blanket.
What is special about the sofa’s structure?
The most prominent feature of the sofa is its cover: a
large-patterned overlay in a soft jacquard weave – called
‘Tailored Fabric’ – which is snugly draped over the sofa
body. The design is a collage of abstract shapes in various
bindings. Although classic in shape, the sofa is also soft
and informal. What’s special about the design is the
use of an elaborately produced textile. It demonstrates
how the best of two worlds – craft and industry – can
be combined to create a unique textile collage. Vlinder
is a sofa for individualists with a pendant for ultimate
comfort.
What makes the production of the cover so complex?
Eight colours with yarns of two different thicknesses
comprise the various levels of seven different jacquard
weaves. A multitude of weave patterns, colours and
textures flow together on the surface to form a choreo-
graphed, richly abstract composition full of density and
depth. Its conception and production proved a major
challenge and would not have been possible without
a team of outstanding experts. The development
and production of several Vitra specific textiles in the
last years have formed the basis for this project.’
How does one go about achieving such a result?
The development of this unique fabric is based on
decades of experience in industrial weaving and textile
design. It is the fruit of close collaboration between
textile experts from Vitra, weaving specialists and of
course my team at Jongeriuslab. In my studio, I always
start with a lady who is a weaving expert and designer
and knows how to translate hand-woven pieces into
industrial production systems. From here, we deliver our
design to the mill – that is where the real trick happens.
They have excellent expertise in yarns, spinning and
dyeing. The whole process of weaving – especially when
it is so complex – is very difficult to predict but each time
the results come from our mill, it is like a magical surprise.
Summing it up, I would say that Vlinder brings the best
out of the combined worlds of craft and industry.
How would you describe the collaboration with Vitra?
At Vitra there is an upholstery team who have great
skills and are willing to follow what I would like to see
and achieve, and they go ahead and try to make it
happen. Working with Vitra is for me a relationship that
is based on respect and trust. We both want to push
boundaries – and be the best. The result – Vlinder – is
a piece of high-end engineering in textiles.
Engineering is one of Vitra’s leading qualities, and with
this project we went deeper and exhaustively explored
textile engineering aspects. Soft engineering to get the
greatest functionality, tactile quality.
Weaving loom
17
What is your personal interest in textiles?
We live in a world of fast-changing fashion, in which
textiles have become a throw-away product. We are
losing skills – like the craft of weaving, with its richness
and quality of textiles and the expression that it has.
And we also live in a digital world. Today it is becoming
increasingly important to have a haptic environment,
something real to touch – a tactile, rich skin. With
Vlinder, I show what textiles can do if you break the
boundaries of traditional manufacturing.
What sets the Vlinder Sofa apart?
Vlinder has the archetypical shape of a contemporary
sofa but its elaborate production and handcrafting
transform it into a unique masterpiece. I was assisted
by hand weavers and a team of textile engineers from
Vitra, who all joined forces to make this novel design
possible. Vlinder embodies a new kind of tailored
“one-off” pattern, an haute couture sofa that combines
the human touch of crafts with the possibilities of
digital technology. In addition to the outstanding cover,
the sofa offers ultimate comfort due to the soft padding
made of multi-layered foam, in combination with the
pillow-like blanket.
What is special about the sofa’s structure?
The most prominent feature of the sofa is its cover: a
large-patterned overlay in a soft jacquard weave – called
‘Tailored Fabric’ – which is snugly draped over the sofa
body. The design is a collage of abstract shapes in various
bindings. Although classic in shape, the sofa is also soft
and informal. What’s special about the design is the
use of an elaborately produced textile. It demonstrates
how the best of two worlds – craft and industry – can
be combined to create a unique textile collage. Vlinder
is a sofa for individualists with a pendant for ultimate
comfort.
What makes the production of the cover so complex?
Eight colours with yarns of two different thicknesses
comprise the various levels of seven different jacquard
weaves. A multitude of weave patterns, colours and
textures flow together on the surface to form a choreo-
graphed, richly abstract composition full of density and
depth. Its conception and production proved a major
challenge and would not have been possible without
a team of outstanding experts. The development
and production of several Vitra specific textiles in the
last years have formed the basis for this project.’
How does one go about achieving such a result?
The development of this unique fabric is based on
decades of experience in industrial weaving and textile
design. It is the fruit of close collaboration between
textile experts from Vitra, weaving specialists and of
course my team at Jongeriuslab. In my studio, I always
start with a lady who is a weaving expert and designer
and knows how to translate hand-woven pieces into
industrial production systems. From here, we deliver our
design to the mill – that is where the real trick happens.
They have excellent expertise in yarns, spinning and
dyeing. The whole process of weaving – especially when
it is so complex – is very difficult to predict but each time
the results come from our mill, it is like a magical surprise.
Summing it up, I would say that Vlinder brings the best
out of the combined worlds of craft and industry.
How would you describe the collaboration with Vitra?
At Vitra there is an upholstery team who have great
skills and are willing to follow what I would like to see
and achieve, and they go ahead and try to make it
happen. Working with Vitra is for me a relationship that
is based on respect and trust. We both want to push
boundaries – and be the best. The result – Vlinder – is
a piece of high-end engineering in textiles.
Engineering is one of Vitra’s leading qualities, and with
this project we went deeper and exhaustively explored
textile engineering aspects. Soft engineering to get the
greatest functionality, tactile quality.
Weaving loom
