Knit
ZhiYi Zhang
Can textile bring happiness to people like cats do?
Many people, like ZhiYi Zhang, not only treat their cats as pets, they are also friends that gradually become their emotional sustenance. ZhiYi has created two knitted textile collections inspired by her cat, Bacon. The first collection is a cute, figurative one, heavily focused on the cats’ image. The second collection is developed from the first. It is more sophisticated and fashion focused with an emphasis on texture to simulate fur, and possesses comforting, tactile qualities. Her work uses a combination of natural fibres and heavy stitch effects to express the feelings of happiness and warmth that she receives from her cat. ZhiYi is using her work to record and share her good memories with Bacon, exploring how textiles can bring comfort to people like cats do? She hopes that her audience can also derive these sensations of relief and reassurance from her work.
ZhiYi Zhang is a knitted textile designer who produces work primarily for a fashion context. She is interested in playing with combinations of stitches, textures and colours, influenced by materials, techniques and visual artworks. With the fundamental theme of live happily, she hopes her audience will feel relief from stress and energised by the tactile and visual aspects of her fabrics.
