origami as fashion

japanese design and the V&A

yohji yamamoto

the art of origami

metamorphosis in humans

humans change and develope in natural ways such as aging, weight loss/gain, sun damage and so on. but we also can change in un-natural ways such as plastic surgery. this kind of metamorphosis is interesting as usually its optional which inspires me to create a garment with an optional add on.

the metamorphosis of a butterfly

the metamorphosis of a butterfly. i like the way a simple, plain caterpilla can transform into a big, colourful butterfly, this could inspire a garment to change to a fuller structure reflecting the metamorphosis.

origami.

origami is an art form originating from japan which involves folding paper into decorative shapes and forms.
The oldest known written document about japanese origami is the senbazuru orikata 'how to fold one thousand cranes' this surfaced in 1797.

metamorphosis.

metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops, after birth or hatching, involving a conspicious and relatively abrupt change in the animals body structure through cell growth and differentiation.
words similar to metamorphosis; transforming, change, transformation, form, development.

orimorphosis

during my first project of the
second year i will
research into the process of metamorphosis and origami to
gain inspiration to
create an inter-changable garment at the
end.

"perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see life with a clearer view again.”

final design.

initially i wanted the dress to be long and floatly but after more time to develope i decided a more shirter dress would suit my target market of 21-35 more. Also if the garment was shorter it would be more suited as a ready-to-wear dress. After i decided this i played on the idea of someone holding a flag and how it folds and wrinkles when it is waved, i liked the idea of movement within my garment so i came up with my final design, a plain fitted long sleeve dress with bat-like sleeves. the movement that will be created when the model moves will resemble the characteristics of a flag. i will now start to create my pattern pieces and toille my garment and i hope to have a successful outcome.

development.

I was heavily inspired by formula 1's flags. i looked into the whole concept of flags, what they were used for and what they meant. A lot of the flags had interesting colours, but i was drawn to a flag which ended the race, the black and white checked flag. not only is the colours of this flag striking and bold but the idea that it ended the race inspired me. i want to create a garment which reflects the flag and it's meaning. i have drawn some initial sketches using this idea, i really like the idea of the dress being long and floaty which reflects the character of a flag. i will continue to develope my designs and hopefully come up with a final one soon.

formula 1 racing.

I have finally decided on an interesting sport to base my project around. i particularly find formula 1 racing inspiring as its fast and exciting, i also find the venues and the race tracks have so many different shapes and colours to them. I am very excited to explore formula 1 racing in great detail, i am particularly looking forward to finding out more about the range of flags used within the race and the race tracks themselves. I will definitely find alot of inspiration from this, i dont know where to start!

and this circle never ends.

This page in mysketchbook explores the circular shapes i found with weights, i found the weights in the gym. I then used the circular shape to draw around and shape onto the stand. this gave me inspiration for a few initial design ideas.

bicycle races are coming your way so forget all your duties.

During my fashion lesson we set up a display using all types of sports equipment, we then explored using continueous lines to create several drawings. I think this was a very creative way to inspire shapes which can then be used within design ideas.

mind mapping

To generate ideas, i have created an initial mind map of all the interesting sports i could think of. i am now one step closer to deciding on my chosen sport, the mind map has made me explore unsual sports as well as the more commonly played sports.

tracing patterns across a personal map, and making pictures where the lines overlap.

As i was originally inspired by the lines created within the floor markings, i used my primary research of this and made some initial sketches and ideas.

Introduction

Throughout this project I will create a sports inspired fashion garment. To gather inspiration I will collate a range of primary research. This will be gathered from several visits to sports related shops and venues. As well as using primary research, I will also use secondary research to find designer references and extra information about different types of sports, and the history behind them. When making my final garment I will take inspiration from my chosen sport. To help develop design ideas I will use methods such as cutting old sports clothing and remodelling them on the stand, also using sports equipment to create lines and patterns which will develop into design ideas. When it comes to constructing my final garment I will explore effective zip fastenings, creative seaming, piping and drawstring/panelling. This will make my garment detailed and interesting as well as textured. Throughout this project I will look at designers such as Thom Browne, Jeremy Scott and Fred Perry. I will also look at special sports wear collections designed by fashion designers such as Marc Jacob’s collection for Vans and Alexander Mcqueens collection for Puma. These designer references will help inspire my garment to be current and suitable for the ready to wear brief. After researching a wide range of sports I will choose a specific sport to research in more detail, I will then use this to inspire my final garment. I will look at everything from the equipment used to the venues it’s played in and hopefully create a successful garment inspired by sports.

Sports Where?

Sports Where? My new brief consists of designing a ready to wear fashion garment inspired by sports. The inspiration could come from anywhere from sports venues, to sports equipment the limits are pretty much endless. To start of the project we all took part in playing sports, volleyball and basketball. This gave us a great experience of the feeling of playing sport, the rivalry was shown thoughout the games. I can now relate to sports in a more personal way from playing these games, i also took the opportunity to take pictures of the sports hall. i particularly found the floor markings interesting, this is something i want to explore throughout my sketchbook.

weird obsessions?

If you're obsessed by something you cannot control it, your obsession will control you. Obsessions can involve anything from a favourite colour, to not going a day without completing a specific task. Some obsessions go unnoticed whilst others make us who we are. We are all obsessed with day-to-day objects but what shocks us, and what types of weird obsessions exist?
The most common daily obsessions are tanning, cosmetic surgery, technology and fashion, but why are we so obsessed with something a million other people are obsessed with too? Having a different and interesting obsession can add character to a person, or just make them plain weird. Obsessions can often define a person, making them unique.
Pagophagia is an obsessive need to chew on ice and whilst this addiction is usually related to being a sign of low iron in the blood it is certainly an unusual habit. The idea of someone wanting to chew on ice makes me shiver, just thinking about how sensitive my teeth are. This is not something I would choose to obsess over, however most people cannot choose what they are addicted to; many don’t know why they obsess over specific things. Usually society subconsciously influences our obsessions and trends also play a big part in influencing what we are obsessed with. Trends influence pretty much everything in our lives. In the film industry vampires have quickly become extremely popular. Many people are now obsessed with vampires to the extremity that they want to be one. Perhaps if vampires were not ‘in trend’ there would not have been as much interest.
Geophagy describes the extraordinary practice of eating dirt- one of the weirdest obsessions I think I have come across; it’s hard to imagine enjoying the feeling of eating dirt. This addiction certainly hasn’t been influenced by trend, although if it was in trend I cannot imagine people jumping to try the activity of eating dirt.
There’s a particularly interesting obsession I have come across, which is so unique it doesn’t have a scientific name. I discovered the addiction to funerals on the Internet, which I found disturbing. I read about a man from Brazil called Luis Squarisi, whose addiction of funerals started after the citing of his fathers death over twenty years ago. Luis Squarisi now attends every funeral in his hometown. Though this may seem impossible, he obsessively checks the radio, hospitals and local funeral homes making sure he doesn’t miss out. After quitting his job to feed his addiction, the residents of his hometown now see him as their very own celebrity. I would like to understand why people are addicted to funerals, but at the same time the thought of attending one completely puts me off exploring this. I would hope that this addiction means people attend random funerals for good reasons.
I do like the idea of having an unusual obsession or addiction, but I don’t think I’m ready to try anything too extreme just yet. I think there’s a fine line between an interesting obsession and a weird obsession, but what is the right balance? I believe we should be creative with our obsessions and consider trying extreme addictions. You never know how obsessed you may become

the windows are they best view, they're always changing

a finished garment. after exploring different uses of colour and texture i did decide to change the colour of one of my wools, which is now the skirt colour. i felt like i needed a colour which reflected the orginal colour that i intended to use and now my garment feels like it ties together from top to bottom. i would say one of my main inspirations for this design would definitely be dry seaweed as you can see from the burnt red colour i have used. The shapes that are created within my knitting also reflect a net-like shape would was orginately inspired from the netting on fish cages found in lyme regis. i also think the top layer of netting reflects bits and bobs trapped inside a net. as flotsam and jetsam is all about things being washed up on the beach i wasnt entirely happy with my desgin being soo neat, which then made me think i needed to destrought the fabric further. i found more images of seaweed and used string which i then dyed to the same colour as the seaweed. i threaded this through the bottom layer of knitting created textured straw-like string hanging from the dress in different directions. this definitely made the design look more destrought. automatically my design is seen as a womens dress which is what i orginally intended it to be, but now my garment is finished i do believe it could also be considered to be menswear. i played around with the length of the garment on my male model and found that if you garment is folded under to a desired length it can be worn as a mens jumper. i like the idea of it being unisex but if this garment was to be styled then i would prefer to style it in a womens collection where i could be more elaborate with the accessories.

flotsam and jetsam

so im at the final stage of my 'flotsam and jetsam' project. ive been doing weeks of development trying to achieve my final silouhette for my garment. ive hand made the fabric for my garment by knitting with 20mm needles to create a loose net-like fabric inspired mainly by seaweed and fishing nets i found in Lyme Regis beach. im unsure whether the fabric ive made compliments each other and so ive draped it on the stand experimenting with how the two colours could be put together. at this stage im not too sure as to what direction i will go in, im considering finding a different wool to use but need to re evaluate my colour palette and decide on a better suited colour. im happy with the development ive made at this stage, im slowly getting there..

free as a bird.

line drawings have never been my easiest task but surpirsingly ive enjoyed it lately. using photoshop i scanned in a line drawing i previously had drawn, after messing around for about an hour i created this bird dress. i was inspired by the 50's for the actual silhouette of the dress but chose the design for more of a abstract, contemporary style. i would be really intreaged to see what this dress would actually looked like if i was to produce it in industry, maybe one day i will.

atelophobia

fear of imperfection.

often i lie awake, think of things i can make but i dont seem to have the parts to build them

draping on the mannequin. using jersey i created shapes inspired from the theme 'flotsam and jetsam' the photo on the right was inspired by shells, the photo on the left was inspired by rope. i like the way the jersey falls of the stand, you could also relate rippling water to the photo on the right. the constrast of fabric colours on the left photo creates a interesting style i want to use again. so far im finding 'flotsam and jetsam' quite inspiring and cannot wait to explore and create textual garments.