Mahlia Kent

I was told about Mahlia Kent by Lorna at Chelsea last term so I was eager to hunt down her studio. It turned out to be only a short walk from Uni on Avenue Daumesnil. Having mentioned her name to Ursula (one of the weave tutors at ENSCI) I was told her work was traditional, shabby and uninspirational so I was eager to see for myself.

The studio/shop was absolute chaos and this seemed to be equally reflected in the samples hung all around the room. It was actually really interesting having a good rummage through them and no one asked who I was or anything so I was free to have a really good nose.

I can understand what Ursula means when she says they are pretty uninspiring as from what I could see there were no groundbreaking new weave structures or complex compositions. I'm rapidly discovering that ENSAD is particularly into smart textiles. If the warp isn't wired in to move, light up or do some other fabulous thing it isn't worth a mention!

What I did find interesting though was the choice of materials. All sorts of ribbons, fancy trims and haberdashery were used in a simple yet visually effective way that actually made the weaves appear far more complex than they actually were. Her use of printing over chunky weaves also added an interesting dynamic as this type of thing has often been mentioned at Chelsea but I have never actually seen how it can work. The fabrics had a lot of visual impact and performance, but as for being well crafted, beautiful pieces of cloth...I'm not so convinced. Some bordered on garish and looked like something that would belong in a pantomine and not on an elegant french lady's back!