Fernando Laposse is a Mexican designer whose practice focuses on transforming natural fibres, such as corn husks, sisal or loofah, into design pieces and new architectural materials.

A graduate of London’s Central St Martins Art College, Laposse is concerned with the sources of materials he works with and their cultural context. For example, in his Totomoxtle project, he has collaborated with a community of farmers in the Mexican village of Tonahuixtla, using husks from endangered native corn species to create a veneering material for use as decorative wall covering and on furniture and design objects. This has created a new source of employment and revitalises traditional agricultural practice.

Through such projects Laposse seeks to shine a light on complex issues such as the loss of biodiversity, erosion, indigenous rights, migration and the negative impacts of global trade on local agriculture. Design, he has said, “can simplify things that might seem boring and complicated”.

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