StudioXAG Team Profiles: Meet Nille/h1>
LIKES:
Silly dog videos on YouTube, Scandi design, denim

DISLIKES:
Waiting, umbrellas, coriander

 

Nille, what’s inspired you recently?

It’s always great to visit Dutch Design Week. Every year, the graduation show is without a doubt one of my highlights. It’s so inspiring to see how the next generation of designers are approaching creative processes.

One of the biggest and most unavoidable topics of today is AI. How is it affecting our work, our life and even our identity? This was a topic that many graduates touched upon throughout the exhibitions. Here, I re-cap a few examples of the exhibitors this year…

One particular project that explored the power of generative AI was the work by student Niels Nijman. The exhibition showcased a collection of objects that had been created using an AI image generator with keywords such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Air Max.

The outcome was a series of fun and colourful 3D fashion objects that challenged the notion of authenticity in fashion. It begins to question the ethics around AI and how this will develop as it becomes more commonly used in design processes.

Another fascinating stand was the FOLD projects from a Finish production company VTT and the Aalto University. It consisted of origami-based folded materials made from 3D, lightweight and durable structures, which were modular and scaled into different sizes.

I was really drawn to their stand with its simplicity and how the folded paper could be applied to both small and large projects – it was very inspiring.

It was so exciting to see two of the most iconic brands in their own sectors come together for this collaboration. The exhibition invited fashion designers and artists to breathe new life into pre-used Vitra chairs using repurposed denim from Levi’s.

I loved the innovation, discovering new ways to extend the textile lifespan. I was especially impressed by the Eames Shell Chair, an iconic melted chair that had been transformed into a sturdy olive tree trunk by Dutch architect Norman Monsanto. To complete the piece and give it an even more organic shape, Kelly Konings created denim fungi growing from the tree and covering the chair.