Kvadrat’s prismatic new textile is produced from ocean waste

French-Canadian artist Kapwani Kiwanga is understood for weaving narrative and materials collectively in ways in which converse to reminiscence, energy and visibility. The artist behind the Canada Pavilion on the 2024 Venice Biennale, Kiwanga usually incorporates materials into her installations – together with some made by Kvadrat – however this yr marks her first foray into textile design itself. Developed in collaboration with the Danish textile firm, ‘Diade’ is a prismatic upholstery material made solely from ocean-bound plastic waste – a sublime examine in each environmental chance and color play.

Named after the Italian phrase for ‘a pair’ or ‘duality’, ‘Diade’ attracts on the iridescence present in nature – particularly in chook feathers, the place colors remodel relying on the sunshine or angle of view. ‘I began by the place this type of duality or iridescence may very well be present in nature,’ says Kiwanga. ‘Except you are within the tropics, colors related to nature – browns, greens and blues – are normally fairly muted. I needed to usher in extra vibrancy, so I checked out birds within the Amazon, exploring wealthy tonal shifts of their feathers.’

The ensuing textile is a technical achievement: a deconstructed twill weave that merges diagonal and straight traces of various colored yarns – 16 vivid and impartial mixtures in complete. One standout model options black in each warp and weft, creating particularly pronounced depth and dimension. The yarns, developed in partnership with Swiss firm #tide (additionally a collaborator on Kvadrat and Patricia Urquiola’s ‘Sport’ textile, additionally produced from ocean-bound plastic), are produced from plastic waste collected inside ten kilometres of coastlines in Thailand. Not but degraded, the waste is floor into chips and spun into premium recycled polyester that matches the efficiency of virgin fibres.

Launched throughout Milan Design Week 2025, Kiwanga created a daring and joyful set up at Kvadrat’s showroom that remodeled the area right into a layered panorama of color and kind, showcasing the fabric’s sculptural and optical potential. Giant zig-zagging panels wrapped within the textile ran alongside the façade, taking part in with mild, reflection and transparency due to rigorously positioned cut-outs and colored window movie. ‘This concept of filters and screens – of visibility and invisibility – is a theme in my work,’ she explains. ‘I needed to provide a form of canvas to the material. To point out the way it may embrace totally different kinds, whether or not seen from the surface courtyard or skilled from inside.’

Contained in the showroom, ‘Diade’ was used to create sculptural furnishings, together with low tables with fabric-wrapped legs and glass tops that encased spiralling thread compositions, casting playful shadows throughout the ground.