luna harkorn for knitting and interactive textiles
For Dutch fabric designer Luna Haverkorn, knitting is a structural system capable of producing interactive objects that shift, fold and respond to the body. Currently completing her MA in Textile Interaction Design at the Swedish School of Textiles after studying Product Design at the Willem de Kooning Academy, Haverkorn develops body-scale knitted forms that invite people to discover their own ways of engaging with them, whether sitting, balancing, lying down or disappearing into them.
Talking to me designboom, Haverkorn reflects on design through making, the knowledge that comes from working directly with materials, and why she believes that craft remains a powerful form of innovation in an increasingly automated world.
Haverkorn starts with the material itself. Observation, experimentation and repetition form a continuous cycle that gradually reveals the final object. “I like making things with my hands. I design through construction, he tells us. “By really immersing myself in a technique, like knitting, I begin to understand where I can make small changes that lead to unexpected results. The better I know a technique, the more I can push its limits and discover new possibilities.’
all images courtesy of Luna Haverkorn
knitting as a construction technique
Examining how plants combine rigid structures with softer, more flexible elements helps Luna Haverkorn solve questions of construction and movement. She develops ideas directly through prototyping, allowing each of her experiments to reveal new possibilities. “My process often begins with observation,” she explains. “When I’m trying to solve a problem, find a new form, or develop a new connection between elements, I look closely at my environment.” Technical precision comes in only after these discoveries are made. “Only when I really understand what I want to create does technical precision become important.” the textile designer shares with us. “At that point, I carefully program the knitting machine to translate what I discovered through experimentation into a finished piece.”
Haverkorn approaches knitting as a method of making three-dimensional structures. Her pieces are often knitted continuously, with few or no seams, allowing a single strand of yarn to form intricate shapes before filling to create their final volume. “I like to challenge people’s expectations of what knitting can be,” Luna Haverkorn tells designboom. “Many people associate knitting with clothing or traditional crafts, whereas I use it as a way of making sculptural, transformable objects.”
Her programming in the background of industrial Stoll flat knitting machines has fundamentally shaped this way of thinking, considering how an entire object can be developed from one continuous yarn. “Because of my background in knitting, I’m always thinking about how yarn travels through an object and how a three-dimensional form can develop from a single continuous yarn.” Years of working with knitting have also shaped the way Haverkorn approaches construction. “Working directly with a material and a technique teaches you things you wouldn’t otherwise know.” she says. “By spending a lot of time with a machine and a technique, you develop an intuition for how small changes affect the final result.”
Each configuration invites a different way to sit, rest or curve into the fabric
designing objects that move with people
Haverkorn’s objects only take their final form when someone begins to interact with them, leaving each person to decide how they will be used. “I never see the things I make as static objects,” she notes. “I’m always curious about how they can move, transform or play with them.” For the Dutch designer, transformation creates opportunities for participation. “When an object transforms, it can surprise the user and create a moment of discovery or play.” says the designer. “By designing objects without a fixed form, I return some agency to the user.”
This transparency becomes particularly apparent in her recent body-scale textile works. There is no prescribed way to use them. Visitors can sit, lie down, fold, balance or even hide inside the knitted forms. Depending on the interaction, the same piece can encourage movement, provide a place to rest, or surround the body with a sense of comfort and enclosure. “Design does not determine behavior,” she emphasizes. “It provokes exploration.”
the knitted sculpture creates a soft shell that supports the body
can craft still innovate?
While innovation is often framed through emerging technologies, Haverkorn argues that craft offers its own forms of invention. “Innovation doesn’t have to come from new technology,” she points out. “It can also come from approaching an existing art with new questions or using a familiar technique in an unexpected way.” Rather than introducing new digital systems, her work explores how material, form and interaction can reshape relationships between people and objects. “I believe that innovation can exist as much in material, form or experience as in technology.”
This perspective also shapes how he thinks about artificial intelligence. While AI can generate possibilities from prompts, he believes many of the most important discoveries come through natural experimentation. “Many of my ideas emerge while I’m making, through trial and error, or observing unexpected behaviors in the hardware,” Luna Haverkorn adds. “That kind of knowledge comes from working with your hands.”
Looking to the future, Haverkorn expects art and technology to become increasingly intertwined. However, as everyday life becomes more digital, he believes touch experiences will become even more valuable.“Craft offers experiences that screens can’t: touch, movement and direct interaction,” she reflects. “I believe these qualities will become increasingly valuable, making handcrafted and attractive objects even more important in the future.”
Body scale overalls can also be worn
flexible fabric panels suspend the body between structure and movement
the body becomes part of the sculpture as it is transformed through use
Participants explore knitted forms together during an interactive session
the sculptures remain open, allowing users to determine how they are experienced
a knitted sculpture can be used to sit, hide or rest, depending on the participant
Body-scale knitwear invites different ways of inhabiting the fabric
Participants reshape the knitted sculpture through touch and movement
the flexible fabric structure folds around the body to create different spatial configurations
the items are knitted in a continuous process before being filled to create their final volume
Openings within the fabric allow the body to move and interact with the form
a close-up reveals the knitted construction and integrated structural details
project information:
designer: Luna Havercorn | @luna.haverkorn
This interview is part of designboom’s Crafting the Future chapter, exploring what it means to be a maker in today’s world and the future of craft. Discover more related stories here.
