Denim Meets Art in Tonello, Trademark Blue and Endrime Collaboration
Fashion is always an art form, but a recent project from laundry firm Tonello and the consultancies Trademark Blue and Endrime uses denim textiles as the medium for artistic expression.
The SAKE Art Project took denim from mills including Artistic Fabric Mills, Bossa Denim and Cone Denim and transformed it into art using Tonello’s eco-friendly finishing technologies. TENCEL™ was among the fibers used for the textiles, along with Circulose, Marmara Hemp and organic and regenerative cotton. Adding to the sustainability profile of the project, the chemicals used came from Officina+39 and were Bluesign accredited, and the processes were waterless with zero liquid discharge.
Sadia Rafique, half of the duo behind Endrime, has an art background that includes work in graphic design and filmmaking, and Trademark Blue’s Kelly Harrington has done graphic design work during her fashion career. Their co-collaborator Alice Tonello helped to take their art and bring it to denim.
SAKE came together this August and was showcased at Kingpins Show Amsterdam in October. In addition to a display of 70 artworks, the partners developed a mini collection, which was produced by Endrime Studio.
Endrime’s Mohsin Sajid caught up with Alice, Kelly and Sadia to discuss the making of the project and the learnings along the way.
Mohsin: 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 and connecting and mixing the technology with fabrics. With the right designer, we can create a real piece of art.
Mohsin: How fun was it getting Sadia and Kelly coming to Tonello over the summer?
Alice: Super fun. Also, because I know Sadia and Kelly since a long time and I always try to push them to be here with us and to do something different.
This time I think we were able to do it and to enjoy the stay together using machines, listen to each other and try to understand what we want to achieve together. And I really enjoy this project and the collaboration. Regarding why I also like art and technology, [it’s] because art gives you the possibility to look a little bit out of the box and do something different compared with what you do every day. So as a company that creates new things, sometimes we need this kind of a project to think a little bit in a different way and to look [at] things from another perspective.
Mohsin: 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 because using it as a paintbrush almost and 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 [is] 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 to see that being translated with the Tonello machines onto fabric has been the best experience. I have learned so much. I’m so excited by it. It’s really kind of 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.
Mohsin: 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 and I really love it. 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.
Mohsin: 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. We learnt all the techniques that we’ve used from a sustainable standpoint, there’s no harsh chemicals, only sustainable washes. It’s really eye opening to how we can create art in a really sustainable way going forward. And denim, garments, all the techniques we’ve been coming across and using have been super sustainable.
Mohsin: 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.
Mohsin: 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. So we really wanted to highlight thoughtful, peaceful images that meant something to us. And from those mood boards, we created little stories. And we both worked together and separately. And it’s been such a joy. We work remotely, but it’s been really fun putting ideas together.
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 met on FaceTime and kind of came up and developed our process together. And we each experimented with all the machines and then kind of put them together in our own way, so it was really fun. We got the chance to experiment on our own and also put our stamp on it together.
Mohsin: 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 the Laser Lab machine. My style of work is very fine lines, and I usually use ink for pens, really fine materials. So I really wanted to see how my work translated through the laser technology. The laser lab machine at Tonello really brought out all those fine details, which I felt would be really hard to achieve. But actually, it came out really well. And I love that they have the three-step level that you can try out.
Mohsin: What was your favorite technique you did while working on SAKE Project using Tonello technoloy?
Kelly: The discovery of the drill 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 it looks kind of you can make it look fluffy, and you can also create the worn tall effect. But I’ve never used that before, so I loved it. The spray was super fun. The laser, for me, that was what I was born to, naturally. But learning about all the processes and learning about the weight dye is something that we’re going to explore another time. And I really liked the ozone cabinet machine, which brighten up my work all the laser prints. And also you can do those incredible fading effects on the bottom, and it actually looks real. Like, you can drape it in there like it’s been in the sun. That was mind blowing cool.