Kvadrat's Knit! exhibition, which forms part of 3 Days of Design, sees 28 designers create a variety of objects upholstered in its Kvadrat Febrik textile range, from sofas and dining tables to a giant squishy ball and whimsical flight suits.
Debuting in Copenhagen during 3 Days of Design as both a physical and digital show, the Knit! project aims to explore the potential of the knitted textiles in the Kvadrat Febrik collection.
Curators Anniina Koivu, Jeffrey Bernett, Johanna Agerman Ross, Njusja de Gier and Renee Merckx selected 28 designers to take part who have demonstrated "curiosity in experimenting with materials, form and colour".
This includes London-based designer Yinka Ilori, Dutch design firm Studio Truly Truly and Swedish design collective Malmö Upcycling Service.
Ilori's creation is a seating system called A Trifle of Colour, which looks at the chair as a "social tool". Made from multiple-layered sheets of ply-board that are individually upholstered in Kvadrat Febrik's Sprinkles textile, the chair-bench hybrid features removable and adjustable backrests.
Other designers who opted for seating design include Ana Kraš, who created the Ofset Chair from six quadrilateral planes, and Ania Jaworska, who designed structured chairs intercepted with geometric cushions.
Some creatives, such as Australian designer Adam Goodrum and New York-based practice Visibility, made circular seating systems.
While Goodrum's interlocking sofas take cues from Victorian love seats, Visibility created a circular seating structure positioned around a central table based on traditional Middle Eastern dining.
Other figures went for more unconventional designs, including Lebanese designer Paola Sakr, who made a series of tableware from textile moulds, and Venice-based design practice Zaven, which used the textiles to create a series of utopian "flight suits".
Zaven's suit designs are informed by the image of a squirrel jumping from trees, an airplane flying through the sky and an astronaut floating in space.
Various designers used the Kvadrat Febrik textiles to make fashion garments. Ayzit Bostan, for example, used the fabric to make long dresses, cropped hoodies, kimono coats and layered skirts.
Copenhagen-based Marie Sloth Rousing, on the other hand, created conceptual garments that combine the elements of both a chair cover and a shirt, and can be worn by both objects and people.
New York- and Thessaloniki-based studio Objects of Common Interest designed a series of fabric-clad fluted columns, which are informed by industrial circular knitting machines.
Each pillar is comprised of stacked textile sections that start to spin independently at varying speeds in different directions when approached by viewers.
A giant, squishy ball by Swiss industrial designer Michel Charlot was also created as part of the show, as well as a room divider by Malmö Upcycling Service (MUS) and a reclined seat by Studio Truly Truly that features a bulbous cushion supported by a clear glass base.
Fabric surrealism-inspired characters by Benja Harney also feature in the exhibition, alongside a series of blankets by Studio Bertjan Pot that have been hemmed using coloured duct tape and a padded bag strap by Giulia Chéhab.
Other participating designers and studios include Studio Akane Moriyama, Bahraini Danish, Camille Blatrix, The Fabrick Lab, Faysal Tabarrah, Studio Fonta Fonta, Julie Richoz, Kumano, Lim + Lu, Studio Maria Blaisse, Studio Paperform, Raw Color and Shigeki Fujishiro Design.
The Copenhagen festival, 3 Days of Design, is taking place in the Danish capital from 3 to 5 September 2020. The event was initially due to take place in March this year, but was postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kvadrat recently enlisted fashion designer Raf Simons to create two upholstery fabrics, called Helia and Silas, that boast unusual textures from natural materials including linen, wool and viscose.