Frances van Hasselt is a textile artist focusing on developing mohair textiles within a local, South African context. She collaborates with a team of women artisans in the Karoo, weaving a story about the origins of textiles, simultaneously allowing the natural environment to inform every aspect of their design and making process.
Raised on a mohair farm in the Karoo desert, van Hasselt has a deep affinity for this natural fibre. She has spent the last several years – after working in the fashion and textile industries in Hong Kong and South Africa – developing a business designed to elevate mohair to a more prominent status as one of the world’s most ancient, exclusive fibres. She currently serves as a Director on the Board of Mohair South Africa.
Working purely with mohair, FRANCES V.H Mohair is one of the only textile studios developing a variety of products informed by the full life cycle of Angora goats and the environment to create work that allows for the raw material to define the final piece.
To acquire knowledge and technical insight into ways to work with mohair, van Hasselt spent time abroad in various textile centres (most notably, residencies in Japan and Italy).
Her role in creating an inclusive, sustainable supply chain specifically adapted to the eco-system of the South African textile industry earned her a Mandela Washington Fellowship.
Her work for Kate Otten Architects, ‘Threads’ was on show at the 2023 Venice Biennale.
FRANCES V.H Mohair has been selected as an artisanal studio under the Homo Faber, Michelangelo Foundation, umbrella of creatives and craftsmanship.
As an educator van Hasselt teaches and establishes ‘Farm to Fabric’ courses for students across various fashion and textile institutions from Polimoda in Florence, to Parsons in New York. These courses trace the steps of textiles back to their roots; Fabrics that start with a land-up approach instead of collection-down.