The Tenderness of Wool: A Unique Approach to Textile Design

Wenyi Xiang's Innovative Exploration of Wool's Natural Properties

Wenyi Xiang's inspiration for this project stemmed from her research into wild wool as a material. She decided to eschew the commonly used felting process in wool manufacturing and instead focus on the intertwining properties of plain wool, employing various sewing techniques. This innovative approach resulted in a thin, translucent wool-based material with a distinct thread pattern, which appears both robust and ethereal.

The unique properties of Xiang's design lie in its delicate transparency and the intricate thread patterns. The material's thinness and translucence, combined with the strength of the threadwork, create a sense of both fragility and resilience. Xiang plans to continue exploring ways to express the natural delicacy and fineness of wild wool, and how this beauty can be incorporated into everyday life.

The realization of Xiang's design involved the use of wool and sewing techniques. The material can be molded from a flat surface and transformed into various three-dimensional objects through sewing. This opens up new possibilities for the application of wool-sewing in interior design and fashion.

The project, which started in September 2018 and concluded in December of the same year, was carried out in Tokyo. It was later exhibited at Designers' Saturday in Switzerland in November 2018. Xiang's research focused on exploring wool from northern sheep breeds as a material for novel and sustainable applications within the fields of textiles, interiors, and fashion.

One of the main challenges Xiang faced was finding a new way to use a material as familiar as wool in creating unique designs. However, her innovative approach and dedication to exploring the natural properties of wool led to the creation of a unique and award-winning design. "The Tenderness of Wool" was awarded Silver in the A' Textile, Fabric, Textures, Patterns, and Cloth Design Award in 2019, a prestigious accolade recognizing top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs.