Inspired by the natural elements and the magic of water, sun and wind, Emilie Pallard and Niels Heymans developed 'Casting Spells'. The three-part collection consists of a jacquard-woven plastron (a sort of breastplate) that represents the theme of water, a gold-embroidered leather helmet or cap that refers to the sun and a laser-cut cape that represents the wind.
The cape consists of 350 different layers of laser-cut, beige/silver-grey satin fabric. The fabric is built up in layers, like roof tiles. An opening for the wearer’s head allows the cape to hang down long at the back and encircle the neck at the front. The sides of the cape are scalloped. The leather cap is machine embroidered with gold thread stitched in different directions. The shape was created by moistening the embroidered leather and fitting it over a wooden mould. The cap is also presented on the mould. The tapered plastron, woven from white wool, follows the contours of the small oval-shaped and laser-cut pieces of metal. These were slid vertically into the pockets formed by the embroidered threads, which were sewn separately. The shiny stainless steel refers to water’s reflective properties.
The mohair fabric for the plastron was woven in the TextielLab. Product developer Frank de Wind then embroidered small pockets on the fabric with a wide satin stitch to hold the pieces of metal. Because the embroidery stitches were quite fragile, the metal pieces had to be added very carefully so as not to pull any threads loose.
Emilie Pallard is a French designer based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She often works with textiles, and her poetic pieces are characterised by a subtle use of colour and materials. After graduating cum laude in 2009 from the Design Academy Eindhoven’s Man & Well-Being department, Pallard worked as an independent designer for several years. She has been collaborating with Niels Heymans since 2012. Together, they investigate and question the limits of textiles and materials, exploring the space between virtual and craft, fantasy and reality.
Yearbook Textiellab 2012
