Sophie Rowley: Material Illusions

Material Illusions by Sophie RowleySophie Rowley is a freelance designer based in London. After BA fashion course in Berlin Sophie moved London to do a MA in material/textile at Central Saint Martins. This multidisciplinary course taught her to research design with a focus on analysing how we live today in order to design for a better future. Considering this background Sophie developed the idea of relation between natural and artificial, real and fake at her latest project Material Illusions. She has taken waste glass from a glazier, polystyrene, blue foam, paper, leather, denim offcuts and re worked them into objects and furniture with entirely new aesthetic offerings. ''These hyper common man made materials which represent our urban identity have all been re worked through manipulation and craft processes giving them a second life, but more importantly they serve as a preparation for our future times when we will not have the luxury of extracting virgin materials from nature. Rowley's project allows us to glimpse a new materials future where we will embrace a newly defined man made nature.'' Words: Sophie Rowley, Thisispaper Photography: Courtesy of Sophie Rowley