From April 18 to 23, the international design fair Salone del Mobile and the Milan Design Week takes place, offering visitors various events and exhibitions. Latvian designers also take part in the events — the exhibition The Baltic Vibe. Elements showcases glass designs created by Baltic artists, and textile designers Sarmīte Poļakova and Māra Bērziņa present their latest project The Many Lives of Textiles.
The Baltic Vibe. Elements
The Baltic Vibe is a project conceived and developed by the Latvian artist Valentīna Kovaļišina (Valentinaki). The aim is to promote work of young designers from the Baltic countries and, through their creations, to raise the awareness of Baltic culture and its excellence. The project started with an exhibition at last year’s Milan Design Week. This year, The Baltic Vibe features seven female designers whose works are inspired by Baltic nature and culture. Latvia is represented by glass artists Baiba Dzenīte, Ieva Birģele , and Anna Ceipe, Lithuania — by Laura Rainė and Roma Mikalauskytė), and Estonia — by Sigrid Luitsalu and Kristel Kärdi.
The exhibition The Baltic Vibe. Elements can be viewed at the restaurant BalticBar, Via Gorani 5, Milan until April 23.
The project is supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in Rome, the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Rome, and the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Rome.
The Many Lives of Textiles by Studio Sarmite
Studio Sarmite is a material design and research studio founded in Amsterdam by the Latvian textile designer Sarmīte Poļakova. Currently based in Frankfurt, the studio is presenting its latest collection of seating and wall panels made from recycled textiles at Milan Design Week.
Over the last three years, designers Sarmīte Poļakova and Māra Bērziņa have worked on developing a non-woven made of post-consumer textile waste otherwise bound for incineration. A unique production method turns these inferior mixed blends into a sturdy bio-textile suitable for fashion, interior, and product design applications. The lightweight leather-like material reveals new aesthetics and highlights the previous lives of each worn garment through colour and structural nuances. It has gained recognition by participating in international exhibitions such as the Dutch Design Week, MaterialDistrict, and Isola Design Awards.
The Many Lives of Textiles creates an alternative to the flawed traditional textile recycling. It emphasises recyclability over longevity: the sturdy material can be recycled at the end of its life and repurposed for new production cycles over and over again. The Many Lives of Textiles is part of a larger project investigating various waste streams from the textile industry. Post-consumer garments, production waste, fibres, dust, and even dye waste are seen as a resource for the creation of new material concepts.
The Many Lives of Textiles project is presented at the Worth Partnership exhibition, Via Sirtori 32, Milan until April 23.
The project is supported by the Worth Partnership Project, the Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, Riga Technical University, and Eco Baltia Vide.
Viedokļi