Commissioned by the TextielMuseum, Merel Boers combined examples of the frivolité and macramé techniques from the museum collection with her unique fantasy world of black and white flowers, birds, gossamer threads and delicate structures. The result was graceful, embroidered ornaments to adorn refined garments.
Blending fashion and illustration, Boers’ work is a magical escape from reality. Using examples from the museum collection as a starting point, she designed ornaments that were embroidered on water-soluble fabric on the TextielLab’s high-tech embroidery machine. The fabric was then dissolved, leaving behind graceful plants and flowers stitched in black thread. Inspired by the decorative style of Art Nouveau, Boers used the ornaments to embellish her subtle outfits, all of which bear her unmistakable signature.
To preserve the fragility of her work, the designs that Boers supplied to product developer Frank de Wind were only embroidered on water-soluble fabric. The embroidered ornaments were then stitched together by hand and draped over the finished garments.
Boers (1981) graduated cum laude from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in 2006. Her graduation collection’s charming alter ego, Miss Blackbirdy, has been a recurring feature of her work ever since – and became the name of her studio. Boers is inspired by the world around her. At the same time, her enchanting illustrations and fragile, girly designs are far removed from reality. The world she creates is an idyllic place populated by black and white flowers, animals and fantastical figures.
