Mohair on the Map

When famed Dutch trend guru Li Edelkoort launched her own social media platform where she showcased all her forecasts and insights we knew it would not only be a success but also a constant source of inspiration. She describes her website as “TRENDTABLET.COM is the social media platform designed and curated by Lidewij Edelkoort. This tool explains how trends grow, evolve and flow; helping us to better perceive and understand how they interact with our daily life.” With our eye always on the look-out for local trends making news, we came across Li talking about her newest trend insights involving South African Mohair on her website. Li will present 5 trends as part of the South African Mohair exhibition at Spinexpo in New York. About the expo: “Organised by independent textile specialists, SPINEXPO^TMpresents a truly international top level offer in the field of fibres, yarns for knitting, circular knit and weaving (fabrics and upholstery), socks, laces, labels and technical textiles.” Li has been a frontrunner of the DIY movement and this forms the base of her insights into Mohair as a trend – she even goes as far as calling it DIYY (do it yourself yourself).

This is the preview of her 5 trends that she will present:

“Knitting, breading, fringing and pom-pom making are now seen in all cultural spheres, from art to design to fashion to amateurs, and even in public space where guerilla knitters make lively temporary knit interventions. Knitting collectives are springing up everywhere, empowered by the web and bringing people together in response to a human need for sharing experiences and stories while creating craft. Even a World Knitting Day has been proclaimed! The D.I.Y. movement has indeed gained momentum, influencing more unique and personalized garments and accessories. In a wild expression of our collective creative survival instincts, people will rediscover the beauty of one-of-a-kind creations made from yarn, fringe, crochet, patchwork, embroidery and hand-knit pieces. With a hint of surrealism and humor, the trends of the future will literally dig deep into ourselves for inspiration; the human body and the soul. The fibrous texture of tissue, the fuzzy follicles of hair, the string-like strands of veins and the bouncing qualities of flesh and skin all provide a starting point for new techniques and colors.

Creating a fashion to mirror our own image, celebrating humankind. Mohair is the fiber that can create our spitting image; a versatile fiber that can translate all of these ideas and more, ranging from silk-like furry yarns to entangled textured blends. It will be used as the fantasy yarn of choice to give volume and bring fun to the knit. Fashion and design are experiencing a revival of highly creative textiles and knits. The idea of doing yourself yourself (D.I.Y.Y.) is an innovative look at craft as never seen before. Mohair South Africa is happy to present this trend and color forecast at SPINEXPO in New York (July 18-20) and Shanghai (September 6-8) 2011.”