Surface and Material Directions

August 05, 2020

SS 2021: Factory

In our previous Materiality post we talked about durable and resilient materials, and how surfaces reflect the repetitious nature of the production line. In this post we explore how Factory’s utilitarian appeal plays out through two more key surface and material directions.

Imperfect surface

Visually informed by aged factory machinery, surfaces feel worn and worked into. Seemingly accidental colour mixing is adopted for both non-woven and solid surfaces where more uncontrolled motifs reference the making process.

The Revolve project by Troels Flensted & Ragna Mouritzen captures this worn and worked into aesthetic. Wet plaster, hide glue and coloured wax is turned through running mould machines, created by the design duo. As the sculptures slowly rotate, further mix is added, and the result is a series of totem-like objects with incidentally coloured and mottled surfaces.

Organico by Philipp Hainke uses traditional and renewable resources for the development of a new, innovative material. An adhesive composed of calcium hydroxide and casein is used to sandwich and press hemp fibres and hemp shives into a solid, stable and lightweight material. The quality of the materials' natural source is evident in the organic variegations and 'worked into' finish.

Utility marks

Factory’s utilitarian appeal sees workwear inspired hues combined with marked surfaces. This approach to colour and surface application reflects the incidental factory patterns from a wiped or blotted paintbrush to accidental colour mixing and spillage.

Studio Flétta, in collaboration with fashion designer Steinunn Eyja Halldórsdóttir create handmade rugs from waste denim jeans. Through a meticulous process of fraying and layering strips of the denim, the entirety of the jean material is used regardless of condition. In an aim to reduce textile waste in Iceland, denim is given a second life.

Factory also favours gestural mark making and hand-printing techniques. Of note, Stoff Studios’ Bloc Design motif is inspired by traditional woodblock printing. Utilising a custom-made block, individual squares of pattern and texture are created and printed onto hand dyed, waxed linen.

Work with materials and colour?

Further insight into material, surface and pattern directions for Factory are featured in our SS 2021 CMF forecast.

The trend and colour forecasts in MIX Magazine are developed with an in depth exploration of materials and application in our bi-annual CMF forecast.

Both publications are included in Colour Hive membership. Each forecast features material palettes and concepts illustrated with more than 250 fully credited directional images.

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