With Kvadrat, the Danish designer Karina Nielsen Rios is launching a new concept for outdoor upholstery fabrics that are both resistant and environmentally friendly. Here’s the story.

Outdoor fabrics that are water-resistant while having a manufacturing process that meets ecological standards? This is what Karina Nielsen Rios, a Danish textile designer, is offering with her brand Kvadrat.

Technical and aesthetic outdoor textiles

Christened Patio, her first fabrics line is designed using three colours of a Trevira CS yarn, a highly resistant yarn specially developed for the occasion to obtain a fire-retardant polyester. This technical feat has been paired with aesthetic properties, as the range offers an endless variety of colours.

With two colours used in the warp and one in the weft, the fabrics may actually appear monochromatic or more textured depending on the level of contrast between the shades used. Patio fabrics are therefore available in natural and neutral tones, as well as daring light tones to create a palette that the brand describes as “fresh” and “sporty”. “It also stands out with a soft touch compared to other outdoor fabrics and offers exceptional colour vibrancy,” stated the Copenhagen-based designer.

Environmentally friendly outdoor textiles

In addition, Kvadrat offers an ecological coating that contains no traces of fluorocarbon, a chemical finish that is generally applied to high-performance textiles to make them water-, dirt- and oil-repellent. Composed of fluorine and carbon, they are known for generating toxic by-products that pollute the air as well as groundwater tables.

On the contrary, the product developed by Kvadrat also offers resistance to chlorine and seawater and dries rapidly without harming the environment. The result? This high-performance fabric can be used in all outdoor spaces, as well as spas and indoor pools. In addition to furniture, it can be also be adapted to produce screens, parasols and umbrellas. A truly multi-purpose fabric!

Find more eco-alternative ideas in our SS20 Influences & Design book (from page 60).