The shelves are filled with products that are destined to become obsolete in a matter of weeks. Luxury clothing and accessories are deliberately discarded and destroyed to prevent them from entering the second-hand market. The items are bought, returned to the sender and eventually redirected to large landfills in the Global South – simply because it is cheaper than storing or re-introducing them into circulation. And again, and again, and again. Humanity seems constantly on the verge of blowing air into a balloon balanced on the tip of a needle.
In an age driven by overconsumption and the compulsive production of ever new outputs, reversing the very principle upon which products are designed becomes an act of both conviction and intent. Reduction, optimization and control for better design – no more – is the foundation Byborrehis work, closely aligned with his values Form us with love: two distinct but converging approaches, presented in Stockholm in its context Test showroom? showcase.
Form Us With Love, founded in Stockholm in 2005, is an international design studio that understands design as a functional tool to improve life and specifically respond to both industrial demands and social needs. Each product is conceived not only as an immediate solution for the present, but considering its role in the decades – and even centuries – to come. “How will what we design today be positioned in the future?This is a question that stands in stark contrast to the traditional market, which tends to ask very few questions – and the ones it does ask are often answered with a lifespan of only a few weeks.
This orientation finds a match in his design and production approach Byborrea Dutch textile company and developer of the Knit System – “innovatorIf the term was sufficient to contain its value. Byborre’s Knit System fundamentally reverses the traditional model of textile selection. Regardless of their intended application, the company’s textiles are designed from the ground up, allowing full control of all material variables – function, aesthetics, haptic and impact – in a single, integrated process.
The system is based on a “from the thread upLogic: instead of choosing from existing materials, textiles are designed starting from the thread itself. Composition, structure, color and function are defined simultaneously, with the added ability to design directly on the design, thus eliminating the need for roll-cutting processes that typically create unnecessary waste.
There is no textile product in stock pending demand. Instead, each material is produced only when required, accompanied by a Textile Passport that documents materials and processes throughout the supply chain. In this way, Byborre introduces a model in the textile industry that moves away from procurement and towards a truly design-based system – one that responds to specific needs and specific requirements.
Byborre’s visions and Form us with love converge on IRIS, presented during Test showroom? in Stockholm. The exhibition space is an extension of the wider Testing Grounds programme, a format designed to allow design to be experienced not as a constellation of individual objects, but as part of a functional whole. Over the course of four months, the venue hosted a series of talks, live events and workshops exploring the role of the natural environment in an increasingly digital industry. In this context, IRIS is a case study of a philosophy put into practice: an approach to design and production that places design as a system and driver of change, rather than a product to be consumed.
Developed through the integration of industrial data and cultural references, IRIS is the first textile collection from Form Us With Love, created in collaboration with Dutch textile company Byborre. As the studio explains, textile design is approached as a natural extension of its practice, developed through the same methodology used in product design, fusing industrial logic with cultural insight.
The textiles are made using micro-patterned woven structures capable of producing visual color mixing, while ensuring the durability and performance required for contract and indoor applications. Color is treated as a functional layer, defined through a controlled and architectural palette designed for longevity. The complexity of the material is revealed through layers and variations in scale, with details becoming progressively visible at closer distance.
The resulting fabrics are applied, among other uses, to the Spine seating system – designed by Form Us With Love in collaboration with Own – and is presented in 3 color ways – red, blue and green and in 3 different scales – small, medium and large. The final fabrics will be added to BYBORRE’s Textile Room and will eventually be available in a full range of 27 colors.
While we get caught up in assigning blame for one environmental disaster after another, the collaboration between Byborre and FUWL represents a construction site for building a new model of design and, by extension, consumption and shopping. At its core is no longer the idea of production to be consumed today and discarded tomorrow. Instead, the focus is on designing in a more “scientific‘, if you will, and in a rational way: based on real needs and real demand, while constantly considering how the product will have an impact today, tomorrow and for decades to come.
