- Other
In Delphine Cobbaert's studio, silence is not a void, but a necessary space in which threads find their place. The Belgian textile artist and designer approaches her craft not as a linear process, but as a conversation between material, touch and intuition. What emerges are objects that not only have form, but also resonance.
Cobbaert studied textile design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent. There she laid the technical foundations of hand-weaving, a discipline she mastered with great precision. Yet it is not only craftsmanship that defines her work. In every hand movement, in every thread, lies a sensitivity to material that does not come from books. Her way of working leaves room for spontaneous decisions to give the material its own voice. 
This open attitude translates into a series of designs in which textiles are more than surfaces. The designer approaches the medium as a sensory experience. According to her, fabrics are unobtrusive but fundamentally present in our daily lives: in the contact with our skin, in the warmth of an interior, in the memories that remain linked to a particular texture. This realisation makes her practice not only artisanal but also psychologically charged. 
'For me, textiles are not a theory, but a way of engaging with the senses'
Her hand-woven rugs are a clear example of this. Each piece is constructed using traditional weaving and braiding techniques, which she does not consider living knowledge. She uses natural materials and chooses colours and textures that exude a certain tranquillity, without falling into aesthetic obviousness. The surfaces she creates are layered, with a subtle interplay between fragile and robust elements. Tangible tranquillity in a beautiful jacket. 
The designer consciously opts for restraint and authenticity throughout all her collections. Their value lies not in immediate recognition, but in the time it takes to understand and feel her finished products. Delphine Cobbaert masterfully manages to re-feel tradition. She acknowledges the history of the craft, but does not use it as stylisation. Instead, she allows her intuition to make decisions within the structure of weaving. This yields works that feel at once contemporary and timeless, firmly rooted in the Belgian craft tradition but not trapped in nostalgia. In her own words: ‘For me, textile is not an understanding, but a way of dealing with the senses. Seeing, hearing, feeling - it's all stimulated by textiles. How we react to this as individuals determines a large part about our identity.’ 
Curious to discover more? Don’t miss ‘Belgian Craftsmanship III’!
Portrait by Birger Stichelbaut
Project images by Delphine Cobbaert, Tijs Vervecken and Laetizia Bazzoni
Atelier images by Stefanie De Neve
Text by Carolien Depamelaere