Modular sofa

Surplus fashion fabric finds new life in playful seating by Muller Van Severen and Kassl Editions

- ROSA BERTOLI

For a small fashion brand, Kassl Editions has big ideas. Launched in 2017 – by fashion agent Bart Ramakers and colleague Charlotte Schreuder, Antwerp concept store Graanmarkt 13 founders Tim Van Geloven and Ilse Cornelissens, and former Delvaux CEO Christian Salez – the label embraces the ethos of ‘doing one thing and doing it well’. Since their first piece, minimalist outerwear inspired by an old fisherman’s coat, the founders have been experimenting with oiled cotton canvas, each season creating variations on a theme. Then they introduced padded bags made in an oil-coated cotton from Italian textile weaver Limonta, left over from the production of coats (the bags are now so successful, some fabric also has to be ordered in to supplement the supply).

The bags became the starting point for Kassl Editions’ next idea: a multipurpose piece of furniture with a modular design made from durable materials. To develop the concept, Cornelissens and her team enlisted Belgian design duo Muller Van Severen. ‘Fien Muller and I had been discussing a collaboration for some time,’ Cornelissens says. She and Van Geloven had bought the ‘Crossed Double Seat’, from one of the designers’ early collections, for their home. The two couples had since become friends, and Muller Van Severen’s work for Valerie Objects is available through Graanmarkt 13.