Even if textiles don’t usually get you hot under the collar, prepare to be wooed by Dutch designer Mae Engelgeer. Her latest collection, launched at last month’s Salone del Mobile in Milan, features graphic weaves and sculptural chunky knits, so tactile and appealing that you’ll want to take them to bed immediately.
Working from her Amsterdam studio, Engelgeer collaborates closely with TextileLab in Tilburg to really push what the manufacturer can do with its machinery. From the new collection, Nerv Knit uses a technique that flows two threads into each other creating a soft 3D effect on one side and a more graphic interpretation of the pattern on the other. The Flock collection features gravel-inspired marbling with pops of bright colours, and the weave of Lil + Lila similarly switches between smooth and sculptural, with grooves of 3D stitching, ribbons of stripes, and spot-on colour combinations. The Ish. Collection takes this feel in more of a folk direction, using mohair and merino wool to create mountain-like zig-zags, which bear resemblance to traditional Navaho textiles.
Not content to rest of her laurels, Engelgeer switched up the production method for her Yeah Rug, which takes her trademark style into a more abstract, unpredictable domain. Crafted in Nepal by Marc Janssen, it was inspired by Boucherouite carpets, a style found in Morocco that combines charmingly unkept knotted wool strands with audacious colour choices. Engelgeer has opted for a more muted palette for her design, but the different yarn heights, and interplay of loops and strands, make for an equally exciting texture. We’re smitten.
