Kvadrat Makes a Colourful Start to the Year at imm Cologne

Since 1968, Danish textiles company Kvadrat has been pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the manufacture of textile products. Their newest products, launching at imm Cologne 2019 continue their tradition of material innovation and collaborations with renowned and emerging designers. It also reflects their deepening concerns with the need for sustainable production methods and materials for which they have already been recognized, winning the Wallpaper* Design Award 2019 for the ‘Best Repurpose’ category.

However this focus on sustainability does not come easily, their first ever outdoor range Patio was developed in collaboration with textile designer Karina Nielsen Rios took three years to develop. The designer diligently searched for an alternative to the toxic chemicals found in industrial standard waterproofing top coats. The solution that is now on display was a Trevira CS yarn which features a fluorocarbon-free, environmentally-focused finish. It is both surprising soft as well as waterproof and fast-drying.

In addition to material innovation, the new range of rugs on show at the fair demonstrates the versatility of approaches of the company. This is a result of both long-standing and new collaborations with designers. The rugs incorporate craft, art and a sense of playfulness into their manufacturing processes. Simone Post’s Sinuous uses hand-twined bundles of color to explore the phenomenon of visual “vibration” that occurs when certain colors are placed next to each other. Hella Jongerius’ Slope rug is a characteristic exploration of the designer’s fascination into color. Through weaving, it recreates the color-bleed effect that typically occurs when ink meets water.

Meanwhile Dutch duo Scholten & Baijings play with geometry in their Elements rug, emphasizing the pattern through the combination of matte wood and discreetly shimmering viscose threads that catch the light in different ways. Finally, Isa Glink of Kinnasand offers four modern interpretations of the traditional Kilim rug in the Kelim Patterns series.

Jongerius has explored another potential of weaving with her Flutter fabrics in which she “sketches with thread” to depict the slowly cascading movement of feathers. Other notable pieces are Atlas a series of intensely colored textiles designed by Margrethe Odgaard and the new color option of the Bouroullec Studios Clouds which will come with notes of white, dark grey and red.

With a plethora of new textile, tactile textures and designer collaborations, Kvadrat textiles makes a colorful start to 2019 at imm Cologne.

Imm Cologne will run until January 19