Tanja Vidic: Formerly Known Objects

Tanja Vidic: Formerly Known Objects

Tanja Vidic, Slovenia

Tanja Vidic is a fashion designer from Slovenia and a recent graduate from The Swedish School of Textiles. Her approach to fashion is rooted in her upbringing in a small Slovenian town where resourcefulness and a DIY ethos infuse every aspect of life. Her creative process thrives on material and technique experimentation and is always inspired by the unconventional. She values the abstract visual experience of the observer, thereby transforming aesthetic concepts into tangible reality. Ever since starting her studies in Sweden, she has been submerged in the world of knitting and the slow craft of making something from nothing. Knitwear allows her to work close to the body, minding and enhancing its form as well as sensually revealing the parts not usually being centered on. In her recent work, titled FORMERLY KNOWN OBJECTS, she explores the field of knitwear design, challenging traditional knitting methods through the integration of out-of-context objects. By repurposing everyday objects such as kitchen hardware, found in second-hand stores into the context of fashion, she investigates the potential of these objects to generate complex shapes, new functions, and expressions in knitwear. Exploring the juxtaposition in such unconventional ways adds an element of intrigue and provocation to the design, inviting viewers to reconsider the familiar objects and their initial functions in new and unexpected ways. Through mindful cuts, openings, and the sensual reveal of the body, she constantly questions the relation between the knitted textile, body, and foreign object where one is dictating the shape, form, and placement of the other and vice versa. FORMERLY KNOWN OBJECTS is an invitation to explore the boundaries of conventional fashion and engage with design as a means of reimagining the ordinary.