Firm Devota & Lomba collaborates with designer Javi Cohen on a project that transforms a selection of designs from its archive into sculptural stoneware pieces. The project was developed as a Master’s thesis in Contemporary Crafts and Design at the University of Castilla-La Mancha and stems from a selection made with Modesto Lomba and his team to commemorate the brand’s 40th anniversary.
Cohen has used garments from different periods of Devota & Lomba’s history as a reference, translating some of the brand’s signature elements—pattern making, pleats, cuts, and volume construction —into ceramics. The project explores collections from various seasons, viewing each garment as a structure that can change in scale and material.
The series comprises ten pieces created using slabs, a potter’s wheel, and counter-molds. High-temperature ceramic stoneware has allowed for the creation of thin surfaces, curves, and overlapping layers that evoke the drape of a fabric. The palette maintains white, black, red, and navy blue, along with the natural tone of the material itself.
Each piece is given a name in Basque, referencing the company’s origins, and is presented alongside the design from which it originated. The process included sketches, models, and various firing and glazing tests, with modifications resulting from the behavior of the ceramic. The final images bring together the original dresses and sculptures in the same space, showing the changes that occur when a garment leaves the fabric and becomes ceramic.
