My chosen concept:

Material: scraps of fabric
Method: slashing

Experiments/ Try-outs:

Textile collection:

I bought some fabrics from the market, but I also went to a tailor to ask if they had any scraps that they don't need anymore.

I then sorted all my textiles based on size and colour.

Thought process and ideas:

For my family of blankets I thought of 3 elements that for me are most authentic of Rotterdam and assigned an area to each one of them:

1) I chose to focus on the modern architecture and use the city centre as representation by creating the map of the buildings (simplified in an abstract way).

2) Another architectural aspect is the combination with the older brick buildings. For this I chose Kralingen as a reference area (It is also where I live).

3) The third aspect that I wanted to include was the harbour, as it is a very important part of Rotterdam. I wanted to make a map of the waters of Rotterdam because it is probably the first thing anyone notices when looking at the map of the city.

For the colours I thought of using non-colours as base (black, white and grey) in order to make the inside layers stand out more. These are inspired by the elements represented and will most likely be yellow, blue and a burgundy-brick colour).

The various layers used for this technique stand as a metaphor for the different communities and the diversity that makes Rotterdam so special, as well as for the idea of things stacked together on top of each other like bricks or containers or the many stories (levels) of the skyscrapers (or the stories of the people in Rotterdam).

At first sight, the blankets are rather dull with their non colours and they show aspects of Rotterdam that are the most visible and kind of cliche to think of as a representation of the city. But they actually show that the beauty and "colour" of Rotterdam lies in the inside, in its diversity and many layers. We have to cut through those layers in order to truly understand the essence of the city.

Design concepts for one of the blankets (By scale)

Process Slashing: