Designer Alice Caetano is always coming up with intriguing twists and turns for her knitwear pieces. For example, with Monbijou, her design in Issue 25, she added a striking three dimensional detail around the neckline, hem, and cuffs.
Today we're checking in with her about this design and more! We were fascinated by the artwork she introduced in this interview, be sure check out the photos she shared with us at the link.
amirisu: What was your inspiration for this design?
Alice: For this design I was thinking of how sculptural shapes and three dimensional forms could become wearable in knitwear, which led me to sketch with welts and to think of them as wearable items like necklaces and bracelets.
amirisu: What, if any, challenges did you encounter during the design process?
Alice: The biggest challenge with this design was how substantial the neck detailing is. Even though it’s picked up after working the body like a normal neck ribbing, it’s so deep and structured that it needed to include shaping in order for it to lie flat on the chest.
amirisu: If you were to knit this design in another color, what would it be?
Alice: I have often knit my amirisu designs in black for my own wardrobe because that’s the colour I wear the most, but I’m not sure I would change this one, as I like this shade of natural white so much!
amirisu: How did you start your knitting journey?
Alice: When I was a teenager my mum taught me how to knit and purl and I went the internet to teach myself the rest. I learned a lot of techniques like decreases and increases, knitting in the round, intarsia, etc but never make any wearable garments and eventually dropped the needles for a few years. I picked it up again in my 20s and cast on a sweater right away (the Beatnik sweater by Norah Gaughan on Knitty!) and before I was even finished with the first piece I was already designing a cardigan with my own measurements.
amirisu: Do you have a favorite museum or work of art? Please tell us a little about it.
Alice: What a difficult question! How about, my favourite this past year? I think that would be the Kunsthal in Rotterdam. Earlier this year they had an exhibition about Alexander Calder that was beautiful and very dynamic. It included works by other artists, and this piece by Ernesto Neto called “It Happens When the Body is Anatomy of Time” really stuck with me (https://www.instagram.com/p/CWduJIWIt-r/). It’s made of several lycra tubes, each as tall as the room, filled with yellow spices like saffron and cumin. The spices had stained the white tubes and pooled at the bottom and spilled out on to the floor, and the space smelled wonderful. It was lovely to walk around between them.
Thank you, Alice!