News & Blog
Let there be light! Light has always fascinated humankind. As early as the 19th century, scientists and artists used electromagnetic waves for documentation and developed one of the first photographic printing processes: cyanotype. The inventor Madeleine Marquardt brings the old art together with new technology, opening up new possibilities for modern textile design.
»I am more of an inventor than a textile designer.” Madeleine Marquardt«
For her project “Printing with Light”, the designer, like her role models, drew inspiration from nature: in her installation, vibrations meet water and move sediments into individual patterns. On light-reactive papers and fabrics they leave blue traces. For the Innovative Light Printing System (ILPS), Marquardt translated these photochemical processes into the modern world. Without stencils, without paint: with the latest UV laser technology, patterns and shapes are printed onto textiles. The results show structures in blue that are vaguely reminiscent of batik. Corrections to the design can be made instantly in the digital pattern without interrupting the creative process. This makes the process the perfect solution for “rapid prototyping” and innovative creation processes. And all it takes is light.
Modularity is not a new concept. For decades, it has shaped architecture, furniture and industrial design. Applying it to soft textiles, however, opens up an entirely new discussion.
Creativity and curiosity have always been our driving force. Our work evolves through prototypes—never finished, always raising new questions about materials, processes, and possibilities.
Both the fashion and textile industry often celebrates creativity. Yet many of the industry’s creative decisions are made long before a designer ever begins designing. Colour being one of them. The thing is, by the time a designer selects yarn, someone else has already determined the available colours, sequences and combinations. Choice exists, but only within boundaries.
“Through hands-on experimentation, I explore the potential of new surfaces and alternative forms of leather, aiming to reconnect human life with the natural world as an interconnected fabric.”
