Change matters: theories of postdigital textiles and material design

This paper identifies examples of postdigital practice in textile and material design and uses the theories of New Materialism and the concept of the New Aesthetic to understand contemporary practice methods and outcomes. In the context of Zygmunt Bauman’s Liquid Modernity it seeks to develop a theoretical context for designing textiles and materials that may be crafted algorithmically, that are alive with agency and pervasive in our subjectivity. Using key examples of contemporary designers, this paper identifies the deepening relationship between textiles and material design practice in the postdigital era. It begins to trace a legacy that asserts a continuity from textiles and material design practice in more traditional conventional formats to future and emerging design that engages and elicits both the physical and digital aspects of our culture in fluid times.