Craft in Abundance

In collaboration with TextileLab Amsterdam, designer Charlotte Bakkenes researches the importance and reinterpretation of traditional crafts techniques for the fashion industry. Aesthetics, crafts and technology together will lead to innovative materials, processes and techniques. Charlotte Bakkenes questions the boundaries of the traditional fashion industry.

The fashion industry needs to go through an innovation process through reflection and radical change. She wants to contribute to a re-definition of how we see textiles and fashion as a counteraction to the speed and greed of the fashion industry and consumers. In collaboration with Waag’s TextileLab Amsterdam, Charlotte performs research at the intersection of innovation, design, textile and materials. Herewith she aims to create more sustainable fashion, crafting “garments with a soul”. Technology and digital fabrication processes give her the possibility to re-develop craftsmanship techniques in order to create a new definition of luxury. The materials, processes and techniques developed, have the aim to reconnect us to the value of crafts, locally produced garments and the origins of the techniques themselves.

The designer

Charlotte Bakkenes graduated Cum Laude at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI) in 2018. Her designs are recognizable by sculptural silhouettes, sharp tailoring, femininity and complex use of traditional handwork and craft techniques. A previous propaedeutic trajectory in Architecture is recognizable in the architectural elements of the silhouettes. With a strong appreciation for classic high-end tailoring and new technologies, she manages to come up with innovative designs that challenge the boundaries of material, shape, and aesthetic. Her commitment to sustainability is evident throughout all her work. Her desire is to change the conditions of the current fashion system into a more couture-driven and eco-friendly way.

This project is made possible by the Creative Industries Fund NL - Talent Development #2.