7. LEATHER MOULDING Textile as Scaffold#

Since I´ve been working in the past years making leather garments for my brand HER BAD HABIT, I was more eager to work the following assignment based in the LEATHER MOULDING technique, also called WET FORMING LEATHER.

I was inspired in some of Argentinian designer Aithor Throup´s silhouettes

NEW OBJECT RESEARCH '13 CATALOGUE from AITOR THROUP STUDIO on Vimeo.

One spectacular piece created by Alexander Mc Queen for his 1999 collection worn by disables model aimee Mullins who was also wearing proesthetic wooden carved legs

And Ecuatorian artist Juan Carlos Valdiviezo Ramirez´plastic molded sculptures presented at Macba museum in Barcelona

Process#

Step 1. 3d modelling on Rhino of a proportional face to start with the Cnc milling

Step 2. Cnc Roughing, milling and hand polishing of the wooden face

Step 3. Make some holes with a drill all over the face in the concave parts of the face to allow better air sucktion and therefore for the leather to stick on each part of it for better details.

Step 4. Put vaseline very carefully all over the mold to avoid the leather to stick to it. Apply white glue under the leather and the mold and use the industrial vacuum suction machine, put the mold over a bigger base full of holes connected to an industrial vacuum suction machine, turn on the vacuum and start the hand moulding for couple of hours until the leather is completely dry and shaped.

Step 4. After moulding the leather by hand I lay it down on a pressure machine for 24 hours and let it dry. And finally the leather moulded face was done the day after.

Step. 5 Apply a hardener chemical under the shape to keep it a little bit more rigid and let it dry for another 12 hours.