Frances van Hasselt is an artist, designer and entrepreneur focusing on mohair textiles in South Africa. 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.
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 studies (a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Stellenbosch and a post graduate degree in International Relations at The University of Cape Town) ensure that the story of her work is considered and rooted in history and context.
Her work for Kate Otten Architects, ‘Threads’ was on show at the 2023 Venice Biennale.