weaving and material innovation

Interview by Alessia Pasquini
alessiapasquini.it

Weaving Past into Future 2025 - March 31st April 14th

This was the title of a two-week residency hosted at Soprasotto Residency, the inspiring artist residency program founded and led by Constance van Berkel.

For this second edition of our collaboration, Constance welcomed the group within her residency platform, which regularly hosts multidisciplinary projects in partnership with different collaborators.

Through Creative Lab, I, Alessia Pasquini, designed and curated the entire program, drawing on my background as a material consultant and researcher with deep roots in the textile world of Tuscany.

The focus of this second edition was again circular fashion, material innovation, and creative exploration.

I curated a program that included industry visits, studio sessions, and research-based excursions across Tuscany, connecting participants with archives, mills, sustainable material innovators, and upcycling pioneers.

"My goal was to blend the traditional craftsmanship of my Italian background with the future-facing vision I've developed living and working between Florence and Amsterdam."

Together, Constance and I brought a group of talented artists and designers to Tuscany, where we visited inspiring places such as:

• ZeroLab – upcycling luxury leather waste
• Goritex – specialists in transforming discarded wool garments into regenerated yarns
• Filwind – spinning recycled fibres into new yarn.
• Filpucci – leaders in sustainable yarn innovation
• Second Life Feathers – transforming discarded feathers into textiles, trimmings, and yarns
• The Cube Archive – an extraordinary fashion archive curated by Corinna Chiassai and Marius Hordijk in collaboration with Stefano Chiassai.

We also visited creative hubs like Lottozero, an experimental textile laboratory and exhibition space, UB London Studio, where we met Brigitta, a designer specializing in upcycling.

Last but not least we visited the inspiring Fashion Room Bookstore, where we had a beautiful meeting with Massimiliano Golini, who shared the latest trends from his store.

One of the most beautiful aspects of the program was that each artist contributed a workshop:

• I shared my ongoing biomaterials research, supported by a Stimuleringsfonds grant, and together with the residents, we had a fantastic hands-on session exploring bioplastics.
• Jess Zamora Turner opened a beautiful dialogue about identity and heritage. We reflected on what represents our past and roots, followed by a foraging walk where we made smudge sticks from local herbs. It was grounding and enlightening.
• Jordan Hunnell led a reflective mending workshop, reminding us of the immense potential in our hands to repair, recreate, and slow down to reconnect with our creativity.
• Andrew Veloso Watkinson taught us the art of pattern-making, rooted in discipline, rhythm, and repetition. The challenge was staying focused through detailed patterns, but in the end, it was incredibly grounding, and the patterns were amazing, ready to be printed or embroidered.
• Emma Collins gave a workshop that felt truly magical to me. For the first time, I found someone who sees the world as I do finding textures and colors in unexpected places, like a rusty wall or a discarded mattress. We created color palettes from objects we found
around us, connecting deeply with our surroundings and inner creativity.
• Lara Fank introduced us to "fashion commoning" and led a collective brainstorming session where we mapped out ideas for a more circular future, analyzing real-world examples of upcycling and sustainable practices.
• Will-Meike Brand showed us how to imprint nature onto textiles using flowers, leaves, seeds, and natural dyes. It was a poetic, sensory experience.
• Deniz Celiktemel and Pearl Sijmons concluded the workshops with a beautiful collaborative session. Pearl shared her practice of creating artworks from garments, full of deep storytelling, while Deniz brought her expertise in embroidery and punching, showing us the endless creative possibilities that lie in working with our hands.

This residency wasn’t just about learning; it was about unlearning, connecting

and rethinking what design and materiality can be.

“When I look back on these two weeks, the main takeaway for me is simple: Inspiring others to think differently. We often start with the finished product in mind, but what would happen if we started from the beginning?

Would we save time, reduce problems, or fill the gaps?

Create consciously, keep asking questions, reinterpret, and work through the processes. Inspiration comes from them, and awareness is the most important thing to change anything.

That’s what this journey was about.”