NOIR NEAR FUTURE
Bregje Cox is a Dutch designer that specializes in futuristic storytelling through fashion. With her label NOIR NEAR FUTURE, she has collaborated on interdisciplinary projects that seek to combine fashion, science, psychology, and technology with a strong focus on human behaviour.
These interdisciplinary projects intend to inspire people to become informed about struggles that are not necessarily your own but which you’re in alliance with. This has led her to collaborate with different artists throughout the years. Together with visual artist Mark King she developed a masterclass ON COLLABORATION for the Tate Exchange program that teaches people how to use research to create mood boards as well as how to design abstract patterns inspired by the built environment.
NOIR NEAR FUTURE creates garments that explore the relationship between the body and the human mind with the help of state-of-the-art new technology and handcrafts that generate a narrative about the way clothing affects how other people perceive us as well as how we think about ourselves. NOIR NEAR FUTURE tries to show a transition from ancient cultures into a more futuristic type of beauty while continuously creating a dialogue between aesthetics and meaning.
In her collections, she combines couture techniques with modern fashion tools such as 3D modeling, 3D printing, and laser cutting that enable the design of complex geometrical shapes with equally complex materials creating garments that can be described as future luxury. The use of custom-woven jacquard textiles, digitally printed organza, silk, and biopolymers creates a material complexity that underlines the synergy between organic shapes that are precisely cut and geometric forms at the intersection of computation.
As projects increase in scale it is important to think about the social and environmental impact of the design process as well as to continuously implement improvements in this area. NOIR NEAR FUTURE works with suppliers who are CSR, Step and Oek-tex certified and make use of wind energy and New Life yarns made from recycled plastic bottles.
All orders are custom made within the time frame of six to eight weeks with the help of local artisans, workshops, and seamstresses.
The brand NOIR NEAR FUTURE is heavily inspired by science fiction, film noir, literature, behavioural psychology, workwear, traditional garments, color, functionality, and future technologies. The collections incorporate a wide range of garments including dresses constructed with sharp tailoring and couture techniques and more relaxed pieces inspired by formal wear, workwear, military and traditional garments which leverages the inherent durability and functionality of these pieces.
Her work has been shown at Dutch Design Week, Milan Fuorisalone, The Tate Exchange, Amsterdam Fashion Week,Fashionclash, Cube Museum, Bonnefanten Museum, Designer Island, Fucking Young Magazine, and Nowfashion. Her graduation collection Abuse of power comes as no surprise was chosen for the G-Star Raw Lichting competition. She is currently working on Pulsar, a collaboration with artist Frederik de Wilde that is part of Worth project and got selected for the Fashiontech works program.