AmbientWeaving ―― Textiles and its Environment (2021)

Since 2020, ZOZO NEXT Co., Ltd has been working with Agata Yasuaki's Laboratory at the University of Tokyo, and HOSOO Co., Ltd to develop new textiles that combine traditional Nishijin weaving techniques with advanced technology, achieving both functionality and beauty.

The concept of Ambient Weaving, which refers to "textiles that express environmental information" and "textiles where the environment itself is woven in", was proposed. We attempted to expand the experience of reconciling various functions and beauty that mediate textiles with surrounding environmental information. Viewing textiles as ambient media that serve as an interface with the environment, we present through prototypes how cloth can change in response to environmental changes and how it can effect changes in the environment.

Exhibition Overview

About

"Ambient Weaving" refers to "textiles that express environmental information" and "textiles where the environment itself is woven in". The history of textiles is as magnificent as human history. Looking back at history, it becomes clear that textiles have always been created through human interaction with the environment. Not only are threads made from natural environment materials such as plant and animal fibers used in textiles, but textiles are dyed with plants in the so-called "natural dyeing," and in Japan, it has been popular to handle natural motifs such as flowers, birds, wind, and the moon.

For us in the modern age, untouched nature is no longer close at hand, and it is normal to live in an environment that has been artificially formed. In the modern age, often referred to as the "Anthropocene," where the very concept of "nature" is often reconsidered, what would be the new aspects of the environment and textiles? This exhibition "Ambient Weaving ── Textiles and its Environment" sets forth these questions and attempts to expand new expressions and experiences that balance the functionality and design of textiles through the combination of advanced technology and traditional techniques, presenting the way humans, the environment, and textiles should be in contemporary society.

Virtual Exhibition Site

This exhibition has a virtual exhibition site where the artwork and exhibition space have been documented.