rust
dress
luna
van kessel
Project direction_ Jani Kaila
Denim design_ Luna van Kessel
Denim rust treatment_ Josien Verwoerd
Sustainable denim mentoring_ Maarten Wentholt
Fabric_ sustainable raw denim (PFD Prepared for dyeing) Rebirth Gold by Bossa Denim Mills, Turkey
The curator Jani Kaila chose the sustainable Bossa Rebirth Gold fabric with the mentor Maarten Wentholt and assigned Josien Verwoerd to use her unique rusting process on the fabric. Josien and Jani exchanged ideas and developed a plan, which was carried out by Josien in January/February 2022.
The fabric was over 4m long and had unique colour patterns on each side. It took some time to figure out if the fabric should be presented on its own or would there be a possibility to create a garment, which would celebrate the rust colour patterns.
Jani consulted several designers and artists in the project over several months. The final collaborative effort was made with Luna van Kessel. Maarten and Jani had a creative session with Luna exploring concepts and ideas and the result was Luna’s dress inspired by the fabric itself, some asian influences mixed with a contemporary femininity and silhouette matching Luna’s design language.
rust
jacket_
Denim jacket design and construction_ Luna van Kessel
Denim rust treatment_ Josien Verwoerd
Project direction_ Curator Jani Kaila
Denim design_ Luna van Kessel
Denim rust treatment_ Josien Verwoerd
Sustainable denim mentoring_ Maarten Wentholt
Fabric_ sustainable raw denim (PFD Prepared for dyeing) Rebirth Gold by Bossa Denim Mills, Turkey
Size_ oversized XL
Year_ 2022
Technique_ The raw denim is soaked in water and sprinkled with natural tannins before exposure to rusty metal plates/objects for several weeks to create a unique, organically formed colour treatment. The colours are fixed into the fibres while any rusty/metallic residue is removed by washing the denim in salt water. The sustainable rust process takes 2-3 weeks and it is an original technique developed by Josien Verwoerd in Amsterdam. In her garment design, designer Luna van Kessel wanted to celebrate the endlessly rich layers and narratives that gave the fabric a uniquely poetic quality.
Josien Verwoerd’s explorations with natural materials exposed endlessly rich layers and narratives that gave the fabrics a uniquely poetic quality. This bespoke jacket, made from Josien’s experimental material, was designed and made by Luna van Kessel. The jacket was specifically designed for the London seminar, UAL Sustainability Network Event at Central Saint Martins, Autumn 2022 and it was first presented there.
For a more detailed look at Josien’s rust process click here.
