Lanificio Bottoli for Yto Barrada

France chose French-Moroccan artist Yto Barrada with her ‘Comme Saturne’ textile installation to represent its Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition in Venice. Curated by Myriam Ben Salah, the work unfolds as a collection of fragments: textiles, colours, words, objects and shapes circulating through the pavilion. The project, which centres on the dévoré textile technique of dissolving fibres with acid to create transparent patterns, works like an analogy. It triggers a reflection on the work of time, wear and tear and the forms generated by alteration and destruction. Textiles and colours are explored as forms of knowledge.

They bring gestures and knowledge, but also stories of circulation, industry and extraction. ‘Comme Saturne’ proposes a poetic means of survival, aiming to avoid falling into despair and instead trying to be clear-eyed in the face of the instability around us with a mocking, restless yet serious approach. The artist’s work, made with fabrics by Lanificio Bottoli, which is one of the sponsors of the French Pavilion, will also by presented later by Yto Barrada in her travelling exhibition. Lanificio Bottoli’s winter pre-collection, on the other hand, will be unveiled in June at Future Textile in Paris. The full collection will then be presented at Milano Unica in July.

Influenced by the French artist’s tactile work, the winter 2027 collection from the Veneto wool mill explores an uncompromising return to three-dimensionality. Pure wool and cashmere dominate the collection. Flat fabrics step aside for a profound structural evolution, defined by three-dimensional weaves and irregular textures. This mastery of tactile depth and deliberate imperfection is deeply rooted in the historical DNA of Lanificio Bottoli, whose long-standing craftsmanship fluidly shapes the future of textured design.