Straw braid as a starting point: This basic material that is used in the production of traditional straw hats may appear unassuming, but it is technically extremely complex and, theoretically, infinitely long. The braid is also one of the favorite materials of the milliner Eva Siebert – and when Célia Picard and Hannes Schreckensberger came from France and visited her small workshop next to the Karmelitermarkt on the invitation of the VIENNA DESIGN WEEK, it immediately became the basis of their joint Passionswege experiments.

In their dialog, the milliner and the designers returned to the roots of this linear natural material. The result – which is entitled GRANDE PAILLE – scales up a detail and transforms a raw material into the finished form. The spatial elements and large-scale wall hangings of the installation, with its stitched together strips of interwoven braid, seem far removed from the rural Mediterranean straw hat, yet they remain close to the traditional use of the material. For the objects remain light, mobile, and nomadic – just like a hat.