Cutouts
GALLERYGraphical patterns form families of motifs in constant transformation based on vector drawings laser cut in light fabrics such as taffeta, chiffon, crepe and microfiber. The hollowed wefts born out of the cutouts establish relationships of fore- and background with each other. The result is a graphical pattern with its own identity – as a resignified lace or arabesque calligraphy – that can be used in several ways to assume different contours.
MOREAqua
GALLERYMade up of designs inspired on other collections, the group comprises the Recortes marked by transparency. The drape and movement of the pieces, laser-cut in crepe and chiffon, resemble the fluidity of water, suggesting images of algae and watercolor waves. The color palette is related to the bottom of the sea.
Balangandã
GALLERYThe inspiration comes from Creole jewellery, baubles worn by native African women and by Afro-descendants, manufactured in Brazil between the XVIII and XIX centuries. The artist’s only figurative work to date, the collection is a rereading of the bunches of baubles worn as lucky-charms and faith objects. The laser-cut designs in taffeta reproduce usual symbols of such lucky-charm ornaments: grapes [for fertility], cashew [for vitality], tambourine [for courage], fig [to override negative forces] and clover [for luck].
Score
GALLERYLaser-cut graphical elements in adhesive fabric join parallel lines made of silk thread. Thermally bonding fabric allows fixating the elements through heat without using traditional sewing. The process creates a tactile and visual texture reminiscent of musical staffs. The shapes float as in a paperless music sheet, creating overlaps that at times show a multicolored side and, at others, reveal a single-colored side.
MOREConfetti
GALLERYThe collection arises from the same constructive system used in the Pauta collection, with some variations in composition. A single element, that alludes to paper confetti, unfolds into several multicolored micro-circles. They are ordered and millimetrically fixated onto
MORELoom
GALLERYThe collection combines the use of the nail loom, an artisanal technique dating back to Old Egypt, and laser cutting to allow for the composition of a coarser weave with rounded shapes. Renata Meirelles creates the weaves with silk or cotton thread and uses them as the base onto which laser-cut and thermally bonded graphical elements are fixated to form a texture. In an uninterrupted creative process in constant transformation, the artist researches
MORE3D
GALLERYThe elements employed in the manufacture of the pieces are created in tridimensional printing out of high-resistance polymer and are dyed with water-based black pigment. A malleable “fabric” is formed through 3D printing that combines links of several sizes and shapes, reminding us of chain mail. Delicate and flexible thanks to the material used, the mail can be manually joined together with knitting, crochet
MOREÁfrica
GALLERYThe collection uses interwoven sewn threads and fabrics of lively colors and was created after a trip to Mozambique, during which the artist was able to immerse into the local culture. In Fios Lá e Cá [Threads There and Here], a new thread is formed from a weave of cotton threads that, positioned in layers, are reminiscent of the collars and bead necklaces worn by African women. The addition of metallic threads sheathed or sewn along with cotton ones confers malleability to the pieces,
MOREThreads
GALLERYThreads of several materials serve as a structure, a line onto which Renata Meirelles writes, combining cutouts instead of letters. With modules of different formats, whether new or previously developed for other pieces, the artist trails an exercise in composition with colors and shapes that carry the essence of her work.
Pleat
GALLERYThe rereading of textile techniques that bring tridimensionality onto fabric, such as pleating and honeycomb, results in this collection of necklaces that contrast structure and flexibility. Fabric ribbons cut out and perforated by laser receive threads that backstitch the surface and shape their movements. The necklaces are adjustable and may be worn either open or closed. The textures vary as the pleat is handled.
Ideogram
GALLERYThe use of fabric fragments with organic contours, remainders of the production process of other collections, constitute the starting point for the creation of this piece, which can be worn as a scarf or a kimono. Randomly overlapped, the matrices with varied shapes and colors draw elements of a subjective and abstract calligraphy that resemble Japanese ideograms. Attached with straight sewing onto a transparent fabric base, these new characters create a poetic writing, with the lightness and movement characteristic of Renata Meirelles’ works.
Apertures
GALLERYIf Renata Meirelles initially used laser cutting to create hollowed designs on fabric, in this collection the artist uses the technique to make linear, staggered incisions of different lengths that create a graphical pattern that moves according to the weight of the fabric, the direction of the slits, and the position of the piece. By varying the rhythm, dimension and interval of the cuts, as well as the spacing between them, the artist explores the movement of expansion and contraction of the fabric, which reveals hollows, ripples and overlaps.