Jólan van der Wiel makes natural forces tangible. The Rietveld Academy graduate won DMY Berlin’s 2012 award with his Gravity Tool – a machine that uses centrifugal force and static strength to produce furniture. During the first Ninety Minutes of Frame, he will talk about his collaboration with fashion designer Iris van Herpen. In preparation, we spoke to Van der Wiel about his dynamic practice.

What is the significance of developing your own design tool?

Jólan van der Wiel: By inventing new tools, you can create shapes that have never been seen before. Its more interesting to envision an object’s environment or life cycle. With this overall understanding, fresh ideas emerge spontaneously.

How do you collaborate on projects in other creative fields?

The goals are different but I approach each project the same way. The challenge lies in meeting certain standards and achieving what others want. This requires a lot of preliminary investigation. Compared to furniture design, dress making asks for an entirely different skill set – more attention to detail and patience.  

Which steps did you take in developing the Magnetic Moon Dress?

I was intrigued by Van Herpen’s ‘total concept’ approach and the theme of her latest collection – Wilderness Embodied. I contacted Van Herpen with the idea of developing a dress entirely based on magnetism. After finding the right material and shape, I developed a new technique to create softer structures. Completed, the dress appears to grown off of the body.

What do you hope to communicate at Ninety Minutes of Frame?

I want to show that simple ideas can be implemented in different disciplines.

Practical

17 December – 20:00-22:00hrs

Pakhuis De Zwijger – Piet Heinkade 179, Amsterdam

English spoken

Register for your free ticket: here

Join the Ninety Minutes of Frame Facebook page: here

Photos courtesy of Jólan van der Wiel