This project, showcased at Kingpins Show Amsterdam, transformed denim textiles into stunning works of art using Tonello’s eco-friendly finishing technologies.
Sustainability was at the forefront, with fibers like TENCEL™ and Circulose, along with Bluesign – accredited chemicals and waterless processes. The project not only featured 70 artworks but also spawned a mini collection produced by Endrime Studio.
With backgrounds in art, design, and filmmaking, the collaborators brought their creative vision to denim, resulting in a unique fusion of style and sustainability.
Mohsin Sajid from Endrime caught up with the team to delve into the project’s creation and insights gained along the journey.
Alice, how much do you love art and technology?
Alice: I love so much the connection between art and technology and what we can create with the technology. Because the people normally think that we can use a laser machine or a washing machine to just wash a pair of jeans. But I strongly believe that we can do much more. With the right designer, we can create a real piece of art.
Sadia and Kelly, both of you are artists. How excited are you doing a project like this?
Sadia: I’ve been loving the idea of bringing together Tonello technology and art in the same space: having ideas on the fly and just being able to test them out is really exciting. And also Alice Tonello kindly invited us to come and do this with Kelly. It’s been really great. I think our styles are really interesting because Kelly’s very much textural and painterly and mine is like a bit more fine-lined work, and I think together it’s just really interesting.
Kelly: I’m also interested in type, so I think bringing all these elements together has been really fun. It’s been the most incredible experience for me. I have always designed graphics and prints for clothing, but this experience opened my eyes to possibilities of what you can do, and it’s been so fantastic. As Sadia said, we both have really different styles and to see that translated onto the fabric with the laser machines, the washes has been incredible.
You guys are obviously friends, you respect each other for many years, you have done many projects together. But this is the first time you’ve collaborated on a project artistically. How exciting was that?
Sadia: It’s been so exciting! We both have really different styles, but to be able to see that work together has been really fun and we’ve never done a project like this. So it’s been really good and we’re both really intelligent women. So I think that this has been the perfect showcase for us.
How was it working with the Tonello team?
Kelly: I personally would not have learned anything if it wasn’t for the Tonello team. Literally. They have taught us different techniques and what works and what doesn’t work. Without them, we would not have been able to do anything sustainable. Tonello seems so welcoming and we just absolutely love being with everyone and everyone taking care of us.
How did the SAKE name come about?
Sadia: The name came from my name and Kelly’s name combined and it turned out to be a word, SAKE. And sake really means for “The purpose of doing something“. So all our techniques and all the washes that we’ve done has been in a sustainable manner. Everything’s been done using no harsh chemicals, using all the Tonello laser and ozone technologies. And it’s just been a complete dream being here. Tonello is a place where dreams come true. And everyone has been so welcoming. We’ve really felt the warmth and the Italian hospitality here.
Kelly: I feel like they adopted me. And we both want to move here 🙂
What were the themes of the SAKE project?
Kelly: At the beginning, how this project came together was both myself and Sadia put together some mood boards. We collected images that kind of meant something to us. And from those mood boards, we created little stories, working on them together and separately.
We started with a theme about the sea and how the sea always makes me calm. And Sadia also had images that make her calm, and it was kind of a bit about mindfulness and what it means to us. So we started with that and we made some graphics photos and we came together and we worked remotely. And then we came together. We each experimented with all the machines and then kind of put them together in our own way, so it was really fun!
Sadia, your drawings are quite detailed on the SAKE project. How was it drawing in miniature? Were you quite surprised how well it got translated with the technology?
Sadia: I got to experiment with THE Laser Lab, which was more than perfect for my miniature artwork that I created. It’s very exciting to work with this machine. My style of work is very fine lines, and I usually use ink for pens, really fine, but THE Laser Lab really brought out all those fine details, which I felt would be really hard to achieve.
What was your favorite technique you did while working on SAKE Project using Tonello technoloy?
Kelly: The discovery of the drill option from the laser machine. I never knew this existed before I came here, and it’s so cool. I loved experimenting with it because it creates a really textural basis on the denim. You can create patterns and also the “worn-out” effect. The laser, for me, that was what I was born to, naturally. I really liked the O-Zone cabinet machine, which brighten up my work all the laser marking with amazing sun-faded effects. Like, you can drape it in there like it’s been in the sun. That was mind blowing cool!
