^{Project Type: Design research / experimental textile project
Location: TextielLab Tilburg, Netherlands
Workshop Lead: Hella Jongerius
Design: Annette Douglas}

Project Overview
Designer Hella Jongerius invited a small group of 15 international designers to the TextielLab Tilburg to participate in the workshop “Fabrics Which Transform.” The aim was to rethink textile materials and explore their spatial potential beyond conventional applications. Paper has long fascinated and inspired Annette Douglas — its purity, its ability to fold, bend, curve and transform through simple cuts. The project therefore began with a basic experiment: a sheet of paper, a pair of scissors, and the exploration of form through cutting and bending.

Research and Development
Through selective cuts and manipulations, three-dimensional structures and pop-up-like silhouettes emerged. These studies served as prototypes for breaking out of the two-dimensional nature of textiles and discovering pathways into spatial form — creating new interactions of light and shadow. In the next step, paper was replaced by fabric, scissors by laser cutting, and shaping by thermal fixation. This transition introduced a new aesthetic language enabled through industrial processes with virtually unlimited possibilities. The focus of the development was not predefined design outcomes but the study of technique and the structural behaviour of materials. A key discovery was that, through the construction and placement of weave bindings, textile surfaces could be engineered to bend either forward or backward. The first prototypes were produced at TextielLab Tilburg using an industrial workflow:

• woven on a Dornier Jacquard weaving machine
• precisely laser-cut
• thermally fixed using steam and heat

Recognition
Annette Douglas’ masterclass project was nominated as one of the best works of the workshop. Hella Jongerius commented:
“An intelligent idea that opens the design field and combines sophisticated technique with sensual aesthetics. It is fascinating to see how meticulously, intelligently and purposefully Annette Douglas works. Most impressive is how such a simple starting point can generate innovation in such a short time.”

Design Significance
The project demonstrates how experimental material research can expand textile design into the third dimension, opening new possibilities between craftsmanship, technology and industrial production.