“Duos en Résonances” with Dewi Brunet

 Duos en Résonances is a project that for six months, artisans and designers collaborate intermittently, respecting each other’s professional commitments, to develop a shared project or explore a common line of thought. This flexible approach allows for a balance between individual work and collective creativity, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas and skills. The collaboration is rooted in mutual respect and a shared commitment to innovation, ensuring that both parties can contribute their expertise while exploring new possibilities together. This process not only enriches the project but also strengthens the dialogue between craftsmanship and design, creating a space where tradition and innovation can coexist and inspire one another.

Thank you to all the people and spaces that have been part of this project. A special thanks to Véronique Closon from Wallonie Design, Marie Begun from TextileLab in Liège, the Fonds SofinaBoël, La Villa Empain, the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, and the Académie des Beaux-Arts for giving us the opportunity to lead our workshop in the textile design faculty. Your support and collaboration have been essential in bringing this initiative to life, allowing us to explore, create, and share knowledge in an inspiring environment. 

Pictures by Alexandra Colmenares Cossio

Pleating: A Craft Technique Reimagined

Pleating is a textile finishing technique that involves folding material to give it a memory of shape. This practice dates back to ancient Egypt and saw significant development during the 18th century with the discovery of new manufacturing techniques. Today, however, this craft is in decline, with only a few artisan houses remaining, most of which work primarily for haute couture. Yet the advantages of textile pleating are numerous: shape memory, material optimisation, deployability, and the unique aesthetics it brings—adding pattern, volume, and texture to fabrics.

The methods for creating pleats remain largely manual, often involving pleating. They began questioning how new methods could be developed to create textile pleating, taking advantage of the democratisation of digital tools. Rather than pitting craftsmanship against industry, they sought to explore, on a local scale, the possibility of intelligently combining hand and machine.

Their collaboration reflects a desire to breathe new life into this ancient technique, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern technology to create innovative and sustainable textile solutions. By doing so, they aim to preserve the artistry of pleating while pushing its boundaries into uncharted creative territories.

This project was showcased in an exhibition at the Fondation Boghossian

Workshop Centered on Folding / Textile Design at ARBA-ESA
Exploration of folding/pleating through the lens of color, texture, and volume

We had the opportunity to lead a week-long workshop within the textile design department of ARBA-ESA. We shared our research on folding, volume, color, and texture with the students, yielding positive and intriguing results. By integrating exercises inspired by artists and scientists such as Biruta Kresling—known for her compressed tubular folding—and Josef Albers, who experimented freely with newspapers, the students gained a fresh perspective on materiality and three-dimensional form.

In this initial phase of the project, we focused on researching diverse textile techniques for creating folds.