Pushing the Frontiers of Innovation: Diverse Weaves with Paper, Wood and Hair

A world where everything is becoming faster, more connected and more digital, endless possibilities are emerging. But why always strive for the new instead of continuing the traditional? Designer Camille Champion has taken note of this development and, during a stay in South Korea, set out to revive interest in traditional craftsmanship.

During her travels, she discovered the over 500-year-old technique of jiseung – a process dating back to the Joseon dynasty that is used to make basketry from old books and paper waste. To do this, the paper is cut into thin strips and then corded. The cords can then be woven into containers such as baskets in various colours and patterns using different basketry techniques.

To save this cultural heritage from extinction, Camille Champion has launched the "Twist and Roll" project, bringing the reuse of newspaper waste to create new objects into a modern Western context: to pass on the craft, the designer has set up a series of workshops to give school children a connection to this tradition. She has designed a small weaving tutorial to teach children to make their own paper threads, weave them on a loom and then collectively build a tent-like structure for their classroom. Twist and Roll combines sustainability, creativity, craft skills and teamwork to show how the education system can benefit from crafts.

The name says it all: "Choub" means "wood" in Farsi – the material that designer Mehi Mashayekhi draws on in his project Choub and uses innovative methods to create something new: Using digital fabrication, he has designed an abstract clothing collection for which he deconstructs the wood, giving the material new physical properties such as flexibility and stretchability.

The designer resorts to two methods: with topology optimisation, a computer-based process, he uses algorithmic models to determine the optimal shape of components in terms of load limits. The generative design method also creates new, powerful design options with the help of artificial intelligence. In this way, Mehdi Mashayekhi succeeds in solving complex requirements, distributing the weight of components and reducing manufacturing costs.

Innovative, unconventional, visionary: In the Choub project, 6mm thick plywood is used to create armour-like, portable constructions in which the wood loses its hardness and becomes flexible. Win-win: The designer optimises the use of materials in the design and at the same time provides a solution for upcycling waste. With the use of digital manufacturing, Mehdi Mashayekhi is helping to drive circularity and strengthen openness to materials and technical textiles.

Hair creates identity – we dye it, style it, create new looks and expressions, and associate ourselves with cultural or social groups. However, as soon as it is shortened or shaved, it loses meaning and becomes rubbish to be discarded. In her hair project, Savine Schoorl gives hair a second life.

Every month, the textile designer and material researcher collects kilos of hair from various hair salons and extension studios and sorts them by colour and length. In the next step, she uses a cadier machine to spin the hair together with wool into a uniform, flexible yarn. This yarn highlights the properties of both materials: the admixed wool offers the possibility to work with other tones beyond the hair colours, while the reflection of light on the hair provides a beautiful shimmer.

The designer uses the yarn to produce stylish accessories, such as crocheted hats and triangular scarves with hoods – which at first glance have nothing to do with what ends up on the floor during a visit to the hairdresser. In this way, Savine Schoorl makes it clear that hair is a valuable resource and gives people the opportunity to discover the value of supposed waste in its second life cycle.