When worlds collide, strange things can happen. Try to imagine fashion students asking PVC lab researchers to pick up paint brushes.
Gioia Seghers and Stella Geneston from the prestigious La Cambre National School of Visual Arts of Brussels did just that.
“For years we’ve been collaborating and supporting projects linked with industrial design in the field of textiles, having as special partner La Cambre School of Arts,” says Daniel Martinz, who works in technical marketing and development for paste PVC at SolVin.
“When Gioia first came to me with the ideas for her collection, we saw a really good opportunity for PVC textiles.” Daniel says. “The wet effects, the textures, the colors, the flexibility, the movement, the water references…everything just fit with PVC!”
“Stella showed up with her wool materials bearing geometric forms, like squares, triangles, diagonals or even simple stripes,” he says. “I was really astonished, because all together they formed a kind of 3D, articulated structure, far more complex than a simple fabric or a handbag. It was really solid as a concept.”
Daniel says the main challenge of this unique collaboration was to adapt the paste PVC labs and the equipments to satisfy the creativity of the designers.
“In the very first trials we had to adjust characteristics as density, color, transparency, viscosity and gloss of the vinyl pastes to match the demands of each collection,’’ Daniel says. ‘’It was very exciting since in some moments we were juggling with different elements and concepts…and we were driven to think vinyl and all the science we have in SolVin as art, which is quite challenging for people like us”.
Vincent Laurent, lab analyst at SolVin, says he and his colleagues were “a bit puzzled” at times, trying to meet the designers’ requests.
“Eventually, we had to give up using traditional silk-screen equipment and worked with brushes. We used high doses of handicraft in some cases,” he says.
Stella wanted to combine PVC with boiled wool to create handbags with a structure bearing a 3D relief.
“We proposed to use a PVC paste applied with the help of a brush. This enabled her to use the silk-screen technique in a so far unexplored domain for PVC, i.e., wool”, mentions Vincent. “Same for Gioia, who used more or less the same principle, aiming at a ‘wet look’ for the high-heeled shoes produced for her models on the catwalk.”
“It was a lot of fun, since we are basically used to provide technical assistance to customers and to our researchers who look for new markets and applications for PVC. This creative work enabled us to think outside the box and to show our product in a new more colorful way,” says Vincent.
Gioia, a 5th year student at the school, says the wet look of her collection was inspired by Esther Williams, a glamorous swimmer in the 50s. “My contacts at Solvin were open and creative.They helped me beyond expectations, and tried all the time to improve processes and materials. I really enjoyed this collaboration and I’m looking forward to repeat the experience in my next year’s fashion show.”
Stella, who has a Master’s in textile design at La Cambre, says she initially went to Solvin “just to know more on PVC. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect or how far a company as important as SolVin would go to help me.”
“I was pleasantly surprised because they did the ‘impossible’ to materialize my ideas,’’ she says. “I was able to get exactly the results I wanted for my collection.”
“This is the beauty of PVC, a unique material, a gift for designers and artists”, says Daniel. “Vinyl, more than ever, proves to be both science and art.’’
