New textile made from ocean plastic by Kapwani Kiwanga - Kvadrat

New textile made from ocean plastic Diade, a furniture fabric made entirely from ocean plastic waste, in collaboration with artist Kapwani Kiwanga.

The fabric represents a technical achievement with a deconstructed twill weave that combines diagonal and straight lines in various colors, inspired by nature’s iridescent colors, particularly from bird feathers in the Amazon.

The yarns were developed in partnership with the company #tide and are made from plastic waste collected near the coasts of Thailand.

Diade is the Italian word for something that consists of two parts, referring to the duality in the design of the textile.

Inspired by the iridescence of colours in nature, and the way they appear or disappear depending on the angle at which one observes them, the surface reveals two different expressions of pattern.

This prismatic effect has been created with a deconstructed twill-weave, which unites a diagonal line of one colour in the warp, with a straight line of another colour in the weft. This construction also achieves depth and the feeling of iridescence in the one colourway that features black in both the warp and weft.

Diade’s colourways combine two individual tones.
The lively colours — sky blue, sun yellow, airy green and faded orange — capture the essence of dynamic colours found in nature, such as in the glistening movement of bird feathers. In contrast, the neutral palette features earthy, grounded tones of wood, stone, and off-white.

Diade has an innovative composition, artistic construction and versatile colour palette making it a classic textile with a modern touch. It is ideal for a wide range of commercial and residential environments and is particularly well-suited to office applications.

Kapwani Kiwanga
Kapwani Kiwanga, born in Hamilton, Canada, lives and works between Paris and Berlin. Her work traces the pervasive impact of power asymmetries by placing historical narratives in dialogue with contemporary realities, the archive, and tomorrow’s possibilities. It is research-driven, instigated by marginalised or forgotten histories, and articulated across a range of materials and mediums including sculpture, installation, photography, video, and performance.