Knitwear Studies
Structure, tension and repetition
A tactile library of tension, openness and repetition — developed by hand through small-scale knitted samples.
Textile designer · Rome, Italy
I make surfaces
you want to touch.
Yingying Xu explores the space between structure and softness — through knit, weave, print and natural colour.
Explore the archive↓structure
meets
nature
meets
nature
Portfolio / 2026
No. 01—17
Portfolio index
Contents
Five chapters tracing the work from physical material research to digital image direction.
01 / Selected work
A living textile archive
Filter by process, then open any spread to see the original portfolio page in full.
Knitwear in Motion
Wearable surfaces in motion
Knitted surfaces leave the sample frame and meet the body, from quiet coastal silhouettes to Shima Seiki experiments.
Digital Printing
Illustration translated onto cloth
Fluid illustration translated into a textile repeat — colour, movement and scale tested on fabric.
Irregular Fields
Woven textile competition for Mantero
A competition project inspired by irregular natural forms, pairing thick fur-effect yarn with fine wool.
Layered Structures
Double- and four-layer woven studies
Four-shaft and eight-shaft constructions unfold into double and four-layer fabrics: soft architectures in fibre.
Botanical Traces
Colour gathered from leaves
Leaves become colour, shadow and memory — botanical marks move from cloth experiments to the body.
Indigo Garden
Botanical resist-dye experiments
Botanical silhouettes drawn in wax and revealed through indigo: a study of control, chance and negative space.
Process archive
Drawn in wax.
Revealed in indigo.
From hand-painted resist and repeated dye baths to the finished botanical textile objects.
02 / Fashion collections
From textile
to silhouette.
Material research becomes colour, proportion and movement across illustrated line-ups, accessory studies and digital prototypes.
01 / Research · Palette · Line-up
Botanical Forms
A womenswear collection shaped by dried plants, pale natural colour and layered translucent silhouettes.
02 / Concept · Technical drawing · Line-up
Dreamscape
A soft, nocturnal collection moving from tension toward release through blue, lilac and muted rose.
03 / Materials · Development · Line-up
Geometry & Memory
Victorian references meet Mondrian-like geometry in a study of modular garments and controlled volume.
04 / Bags · Footwear · Colour
Accessory Studies
Expressive accessory proposals built from curved outlines, saturated colour and sculptural rhythm.
05 / Digital prototyping · Fit · Volume
CLO 3D Development
Digital garment studies testing asymmetry, drape and proportion before physical realization.
06 / Spring / Summer 2025
Riva Blu
A coastal womenswear line-up in layered blues, watery transparency and textile-led surface variation.
03 / Studio view · Layered structures
The work leaves the page.
A family of handwoven double- and multi-layer textiles shown on loom frames. Open joins, floating threads and shifting blocks turn the technical sample into a spatial installation.
04 / AI & digital experiments
Material intelligence,
digitally extended.
Generative AI is used here as an art-direction and prototyping tool. Every result begins with my own physical textile work; final decisions remain grounded in material accuracy, construction and visual quality.
01 / Campaign concept
Woven Column
My original double-weave sample becomes a full-length silhouette. The AI stage was art-directed around material fidelity, proportion and restrained studio light.
Workflow: original textile · generative image direction · visual quality control · Adobe-ready refinement02 / Material-to-garment study
Layered Cocoon
A muted woven study is translated into outerwear while retaining its banded construction, speckled yarn and raw fringe.
Workflow: original textile · generative image direction · visual quality control · Adobe-ready refinement03 / E-commerce image
Indigo Object
The hand-painted wax-resist tote is refined into a controlled product image, focusing on accurate motif placement, construction and surface character.
Workflow: original textile · generative image direction · visual quality control · Adobe-ready refinementQuality-control study
Generate, compare,
correct the direction.
01Product identityMotif placement, dimensions and handle construction remain consistent across views.
02Material fidelityCotton grain, woven density, dye variation and raw yarn are checked against the physical source.
03Construction logicSeams, edges, pattern flow and garment proportions are reviewed before an image is selected.
04DisclosureAI-assisted outcomes are separated clearly from photographed original work.
AI-assisted concepts developed from original textiles by Yingying Xu. No client or brand affiliation is implied.
05 / About
From thread
to atmosphere.
I am a textile designer based in Rome, working across hand knit, industrial knitwear, woven structures, digital printing and natural dyeing.
My practice begins with material curiosity: how a yarn bends, how a layer opens, how a botanical trace settles into cloth. I translate those observations into tactile surfaces and wearable forms.
- Based in
- Rome, Italy
- Focus
- Textile · Knitwear
- Digital
- CLO 3D · Creative AI
- Languages
- Mandarin · Italian · English