Laura Theiss for Dyloan Studio

“Hacking Traditions”
Autumn/Winter 2016

Throughout her previous collections, Laura Theiss has explored parallel and futuristic universes. In her Capsule Collection designed for Dyloan Studio, Theiss has instead taken things further, trying to forecast the future of traditional crocheting and knitting techniques.

Inspired by early films about space travel à la Fritz Lang’s Woman in the Moon, strong women like astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, and fictional anti-heroines such as Ava, the enigmatic cyborg in Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, Theiss designed intricate motifs, crocheted fractals, and kaleidoscopic patterns.

See-through elements, cut-outs and metallic second skin-like mesh fractals were directly inspired by Ava’s partially transparent body. Yet Theiss also kept firmly in mind the cyborg’s behaviour: just like Ava manipulates the main characters in the film, Theiss digitally hacked some of her crocheted elements to create innovative shapes.

The result is suprising with dresses, skirts, jumpers and coats featuring highly experimental techniques: crocheted patterns are seamlessly bonded with organza; a 3D crochet motif is printed on a jumper and coated with foil; cashmere knits are combined with fine leather characterised by an embossed crochet pattern that looks like an alien virus.

As Theiss pushes the boundaries of crocheting and knitting, taking them to another dimension to tangibly prove that traditions can lead to endless possibilities, she reminds us that this Capsule Collection is not just about technique. All the designs are indeed created with the aim of empowering women and inspiring them not just to look at the future, but at the possibility of visioning, hacking and crafting it.

written by Anna Battista

Pitti Filati, Florence, 1-3 July 2015