3. Circular Fashion#

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“We still educate our young people to become catwalk designers; unique individuals,
whereas this society is now about exchange and the new economy
and working together in teams and groups,
which happens in every other discipline, yet not in fashion”
– Li Edlekoort, Dutch trend forecaster

Disclosure: I was trying not to laugh in this photo, sorry for the serious face

Objectives#

from Fabricademy website:

“Design and fabricate a modular reconfigurable system or seamless garment”
“Upload your open source file to OS Circular”

A. References#

I was inspired by traditional Hawaiian weaving because of the original fabric I found in Fab Lab - pina textile (seen in the background of above photo).

Although I did not end up using the pina fabric for my final garment (I discovered it was simply too thick and bulky for the desired weave effect), it sparked me to think of Hawaiian weaving.

The basic weave of my garment could be taken from any cultural reference of weaving. That it to say, the style of weaving I chose is not specific to traditional Hawaiian weaving. It is a simple basket weave. I’m pretty sure I did it in grade 2.

But weaving connects me to my personal experiences with Hawaii, specifically Hawaiian culture. I intentionally did not replicate a tradtional Hawaiian weaving method as to respect the culture and not culturally appropriate. Any culture should only ever be a source of admiration and inspiration for a designer. Unless of course, you belong to that culture.

Clockwise from top left| traditional Hawaiian dance competition (via Honolulu Star Advertiser) | pineapples getting rinsed at a Maui pineapple plantation (via Tastemade) | woven dress inspiration (via Pinterest) | traditional weaving (via Moon Travel Guides) | Hawaiian women surfing (via Nat Geo) | background image is traditional handmade quilt (via WeBeTiki)

Hawaii, specifically Maui, is a special place for me. I was lucky enough to go on family vacations to Maui. We always stayed at Ka’anapali Beach Hotel. This hotel is more than than an anomoly on the beach strip, it’s a straight up miracle. How this local, small scale resort has survived all these years amongst multi-billion dollar luxury resorts, remains a mystery. Ka’anapali Beach Hotel is a long running family business (or at least it was when I was there) on a mission to show guests authentic Hawaii.

The hotel offers awesome Hawaiian workshops for guests, and I have very fond memories of locals teaching my sister and I how to thread a flower lei, strum a uke, and weave bookmarks from palm leaves.

Today, as an adult, I realize the situation in Hawaii is complex. The legacy of colonization continues, as Indigenous people continue to fight for sovereignty and cultural vitality amongst heavy commercialization of their traditional lands. I stand in solidarity with native Hawaiians. I respect their vibrant culture. In comparison to other Indigenous groups around the world, native Hawaiians (for the moment and all things considered) are still managing to preserve their culture beautifully.

What’s more, Hawaiian people still continue to share their traditions with outsiders, like they did for my sister and I as little girls. The Ka’anapali family has no idea how much of a lasting impression they made on me. I am grateful for their welcoming spirit of aloha.

B. Design Process#

Paper prototype | Design sketches

Step 1: Translate paper sketches into Rhino#

• Imported an existing pattern from Clara’s computer
• Input my measurements
• Diagonals on 45 degrees, width of 40mm

Step 2: Interlocking system#

• Added interlocking arrows at the shoulder, side, and bottom
• Deleted all guide lines
• Mirrored the one side and made the opposite notches on the interlocking system

Step 3: Laser cut a prototype#

• Used a fabric of similar thickness/texture to the pina textile
• Actual pina fabric was limited and very expensive
• Testing for correct interlocking at the shoulders and bottom, correct weaving alignment, and overall fit
• Testing for visibility of laser printer cut burn marks and how well laser print cuts the fabric

Since time permitted, I was able to design a weave pattern on the back of the garment as well.

Creating a weave pattern on the back proved to be challenging and required readjusting the front pattern as well.

Step 4: Adjust pattern in Rhino#

Back design:
- Draw intersecting lines, 3mm wide - Remove old interlocking systems
- Remove old necklines and backlines
- Create a set of notches to interlock the weaving along the shoulder with the weaving along the back
- Mirror the one side and make the notches interlock the opposite way

Front design:
- Make stripes on a steeper angle so as to eliminate gap in the neckline
- Change interlocking on the bottom from triangles to squares
- Remove old interlocking systems on the shoulder and sides

Step 5: Final pattern#

• Initially did not fit in the Trotec box
• Scaled it down slightly to fit

Step 6: Prototype 2#

• A NEW weave pattern on the back
• Moved the interlocking system from the shoulders to the back
• Steeper angle of weave
• Bottom tabs are square instead of triangular, to create unity and not distract from the main design
• Neckline in front and back now v-neck

As a result of the above design changes, I was able to decrease waste from 4 pattern pieces to just 2.

Also, now the garment can be worn two ways.

Garment can be worn two ways

Step 7: Final garment#

• Taken in 4 inches from the sides
• Laser cutter settings adjusted to 60 (power) and 2.00 (speed)
• Chose a thinner fabric closer to prototype 2 but ALSO for the purpose of weaving 2 different colours together. I wanted this effect

HUGE THANKS TO CLARA AND FANNI FOR PATTERN HELP!#

Links#

• Rhino pattern file
• OS Circular file

C. Reflections on Circular Fashion assignment#

Sustainability & Design Criteria#

• Document how soft interlocking connection has been designed and fabricated
• How the connection either creates a full garment or has been applied to the seams
• Show that the connection is well designed and holds the pull/stretch of a garment
• Include all downloadable files in your documentation
• Upload your open source file, accompanied by a manual of materials and a tutorial of how to make it and track its life throughout the whole course. Keep metrics of it while the duration of the course, use social media to share and track its spreading

Lecture reflections#

“Opensourcing Fashion System” and “Modular Fashion”
Presented by Zoe Romano, Fabricademy Instructor
Lecture 3

“Open Source Fashion” highlights:

• The state of fashion today is interdisciplinary and technology driven, we should be teaching fashion this way.
  - But we’re not, fashion schools are still teaching that fashion is divided into distinct roles: designers, seamstress, etc.

• Fashion conglomerates: a large central company that owns a bunch of high fashion companies
  - The conglomerate usually lets the brand keep let their names, so you don’t know they own them.
  - LVMH = biggest conglomerate, Kering = second largest conglomerate
  - 6 conglomerates own most of the luxury brands
  - Conglomerates are not just reserved for couture fashion, exist in Fast Fashion too.

• Alternative models to fashion production besides evil capitalism
  - Some of these big fashion companies are “faking” a move to a Circular Economy model, but since the base is still capitalism, it will never work
  - The real solution is to build a new business model ....

• Open Source Business Model
  - “Do It Together” community (the new DIY)
  - Share our knowledge and help each other
  - You could share your code, then monitor how many downloads you have, and if popular you can sell the kit and you could involve local businesses.
  - You could start a Kickstarter EX: Fashion design company Post Couture has 2 options on their website: to buy the garments or buy the design kit and make the garment yourself (much less expensive option)

“Modular Fashion” highlights:

Playful tesselation designs by Samuel Kerr

• Definition: interlocking pieces
• Modular design considerations: a)strength of your material and b) wearability of the piece
• Tessellations as means to create interlocking shapes
  - Accessories sometimes produce the best results with this technique of modular fashion

Galya Rosenfeld | Mary Ann Williams

Bonus Information#

• 60% of our clothing contains polyester, which is impossible to recycle
• 20% of the garment is wasted in production aka cut out the pattern, there is material leftover
• “Don’t just think about what you could make, also think what will be the next generation of services (that support the fashion industry)” – Zoe Romano