We sat down with Alex, the man behind the industrial knitting machine that brings our Wolvis ideas to life. He shares stories of the most unusual requests he's received over the years and how he has seen the knitting industry evolve.
Photos by Bieke Depoorter / Magnum Photos
Knitting runs in your family, but did you always dream of working in the textile industry?
No, not at all. At 18, I went to study in Ghent and tried a bit of everything: two years of pharmacy, a year of law, and then a year of physiotherapy.
After that, my father’s patience ran out, and I started working at my parents’ knitting factory in September ’97. In December of that same year, I began a knitting course at VDAB with Ida Coppieters, which I completed in August ’98. Since then, I’ve been working full-time as a knitwear producer.
What does a knitting course involve? Can you still take one today?
Unfortunately, the course I took no longer exists. I think I was in the last year, along with a few boys from the fifth and sixth years of technical school in Sint-Niklaas.
You learn everything about knitting, starting with hand-knitting on manual knitting machines, and progressing to programming industrial machines. As far as I know, such practical courses are no longer available unless you study textile design or technology, but those courses don’t focus solely on knitting. We’re a dying breed (laughs).
After your course, you started working full-time. How is it working with family?
When I started, my father and his two brothers were still there, and things could get quite loud at times. Now, it’s just my cousin Karel and me. We each have our own specialisation, but we make a good team. Karel handles the commercial side, while I focus on production.
Has much changed since you and Karel took over the factory?
Yes, we used to be much larger. When I started, there were about fifty employees—around 45 women handling the finishing (cutting, sewing, ironing, etc.) and about five in production. Today, there are only about ten of us left.
You describe yourself and your colleagues as a dying breed. Why?
Industrial knitting isn’t like driving a car—if you can drive one car, you can drive them all. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with industrial knitting. Although the technical part remains the same, the programming languages and control systems are brand-specific. You can only work with the machines of the brand you trained on, or you need to undergo a completely new training.
For example, I can only knit with the Italian brand Protti, a brand that, like many other knitting machine manufacturers, no longer exists.
You don’t just produce for Wolvis, but also for other (small) labels. Is that enough to stay afloat, or do you have other sources of income?
Most of our income doesn’t come from (small) designers but from long-term contracts. I’m talking about five-year contracts.
Our biggest client at the moment is the federal police. Contracts like these provide us with security and allow us to support smaller designers. Initially, you have to invest a lot of time without earning much, and you never know in advance whether something will be successful or not.
If I remember correctly, you started with 80 scarves, and that has grown significantly since then.
For the four small businesses you invest time in, you hope one of them grows big. As a knitwear manufacturer, you can grow along with the business. That’s how it went with Wolvis.
What’s the craziest project you’ve ever been asked to do?
That would definitely be a project from a student at the Antwerp Fashion Academy. It was a knitted wedding dress in neon yellow yarn with some transparent sections and a large skull. That was quite something.
Other projects in the same vein include sweaters made from incredibly tough, natural yarns for Jan Jan Van Essche and exclusive coats weighing 1.5 kg for CAP.
Do you ever wear items you didn’t knit yourself?
No, never! Even my wife only wears sweaters I’ve made. (laughs) When we go shopping together, she can look, of course, but buying one… I couldn’t bear it.
Does your wife have a Wolvis?
Yes, her Wolvis pieces are often the first prototypes or production mistakes. Sometimes I think I have enough yarn left for a scarf, but then I don’t, so I tie a new colour to the last 15 cm. So she actually has all pièces uniques.
To wrap up… What do you enjoy most about your job?
Like in any job, I love the variety. It’s important for me to find a good balance between programming and knitting. It’s also incredibly satisfying to see my programs transformed into a wearable piece.
I’m not that important, but the product is.
Griet: We don’t quite agree with that. We think you are important because how our designs turn out depends on what you do with them.
That’s true, design is always a collaboration. You have something in mind, and I try to translate that into something beautiful. Sometimes there’s a miscommunication, and things turn out better than the original idea, or sometimes not. (laughs)
