Electric Co

Simple and effective, intrinsic and irreversible; Groenewegen not only goes a step further in her designs but pushes the possibilities of the machine and design, and thus the wearer, to the extreme. The surface and shape do not serve the body by accentuating, correcting or hiding it, but allow you to see right through the skin. Her knitted garments turn the body inside out. Groenewegen sees this as an exercise in complete freedom, unimpeded by any commercial purpose. This makes her designs bold, uncompromising and richly tactile. She calls the result ‘soft-tech’.

Groenewegen’s design process is guided by contrasting material properties, such as closed versus open, rigid versus flexible and hard versus soft. An example of this is her use of elastic yarn, which creates volume by contracting. Felted wool leads to shrinkage and makes a fabric compact and heavy, while silk in an openwork knit has an airy quality and adds supple movement. In turn, metal yarn adds strength and shine. By dyeing the knitted fabric a single colour, Groenewegen creates a visual unity and tranquillity in the various properties that together determine the design’s shape and drape. In this almost sculptural way, she uses the knitting machine to create individual garments and entire collections.