3. Circular Open Source Fashion¶
Research & Inspiration¶
This week’s topic, I must admit, was entirely new to me. I had never heard of Open Source Circular Fashion, let alone understood what it actually represents. However, I quickly came to realize that at its core, it focuses on modular fashion that aims to be waste-free. It eliminates seams and stitching, introducing a new way of constructing garments through seamless interlocking. Moreover, this approach embraces open-source principles. What does that mean? Essentially, it ensures that all information, such as patterns, is freely accessible to everyone, promoting transparency in our actions. This is the essence of what we’re exploring this week.
Since this concept was unfamiliar to me, I didn’t have any immediate references for inspiration, so I conducted some research and found several intriguing projects that captivated me.
Pierpaolo Piccioli's work for Valentino might not seem like an obvious reference to this week’s topic. However, if you look closely at the Valentino Summer 2021 collection, you can spot looks that incorporate the technique of seamless interlocking. Before learning about this week's topic, I admired these garments for their stunning shapes, colors, and forms without fully understanding how they were constructed. Now, knowing the technique behind them, my appreciation and respect for Pierpaolo’s work have grown even more.
Valentino Summer 2021 Collection.
Another fascinating project that really intrigued me was A-POC (A Piece of Cloth) by Issey Miyake and his team. Their goal was to experiment with the concept of zero waste by weaving garments as a single piece of fabric using an industrial knitting machine. They aimed to make each item customisable for the individual wearing it. As a result, the garments were slightly oversized when cut from the roll, allowing for personal adjustments to necklines and sleeve lengths according to the wearer’s preference. The bold red colour chosen for this project was striking—and one I absolutely loved!
A Piece of Cloth by Issey Miyake.
Of course, I couldn’t leave out the work of Kosuke Tsumura. His Cocoon Dress is a perfect example of modular, seamless fashion. Interconnected circular shapes come together to form a stunning piece that combines both the silhouette of a dress and an elaborate headpiece.
The Cocoon dress by Kosuke Tsumura.
After exploring various references, an idea began to take shape in my mind. Heavily inspired by Kosuke Tsumura’s Cocoon Dress, I’m drawn to the idea of creating a headpiece. Seamless interlocking allows for lighter structures, which is exactly what I’m aiming for in terms of convenience and comfort in a headpiece. I also plan to incorporate the striking red colour from Issey Miyake’s work, which had a strong visual impact on me.
The Process ¶
Brainstorming ¶
The process for this week’s assignment began with some brainstorming. I knew I wanted to create a headpiece, but first, I needed a clear vision of how it would look. After browsing online for inspiration and giving it some thought, I sketched a design. This helped me start visualising the shapes I could create to achieve the look I wanted. Initially, I went for a six-sided star shape, but I quickly realised it wasn’t very functional. So, I broke the sides apart and decided that triangles would be the main shape for my design. I added cuts for interlocking, but I didn’t want a solid block of triangles. I preferred to use triangular outlines. I then thought of creating smaller triangles inside the larger ones, which could also be modular pieces. This approach would reduce waste, much like Issey Miyake’s work, where most of the fabric is used efficiently and it would give me both outlines of triangles and solid blocks of triangles. Therefore, the final design, consisting of different-sized triangles, would not only be more interesting but also more sustainable.
My sketches for the headpiece.
Prototyping ¶
The next step was to prototype my idea using paper and scissors. I started by sketching squares measuring 7x7 cm, which I divided into triangles. Inside each triangle, I drew a smaller one, leaving a 1 cm outline for the original triangle. I cut out the triangles and added the interlocking cuts as per my sketch, then tried to interlock them. The interlocking worked, but the triangles were too small. To improve the design, I decided to create equilateral triangles (equal sides) rather than the isosceles triangles I had initially used and of course, make the triangles bigger.
First prototype with paper and scissors.
For the next round of prototyping, I used triangles with 10 cm sides and smaller triangles with 4.5 cm sides. After adding the cuts and piecing them together, the result looked much cleaner and more refined. This time, I also tested interlocking both large and small triangle outlines, and it worked perfectly. One thing I realised after finishing the prototype was that this model, which incorporated two methods of interlocking the triangles, could also form 3D shapes, making the design even more interesting.
Second prototype with paper and scissors.
Digitalising the Pattern ¶
Once I knew my pattern would work, I needed to create it in a 2D or 3D software to later laser cut it from fabric. I used Rhino for this process. First, I created two triangles, one with 100 mm sides and the other with 50 mm sides, ensuring I worked in millimetres. I used axis lines within the larger triangle to centre the smaller triangle inside it. These two formed the outline for the large and small modular pieces.
First stage of digitilising the pattern.
Next, I added the interlocking cuts. I created a third triangle, placed it between the large and small triangles, and added an extra line to position the cuts. Using Rhino’s trim function, I selected the lines that would be used to cut in Rhino and then deleted the unnecessary lines. Afterwards, I mirrored the cuts across all three corners by creating axis lines from each triangle point to the opposite midpoint. I repeated this process for the smaller triangle.
Second stage of digitilising the pattern.
Once the cuts were set, I duplicated the design and created complementary cuts for the interlocking system. I inserted lines between the existing cuts and by deleting the lines for the previous cuts, I was left with middle cuts for interlocking. I applied the same process to both large and small triangles and added extra cuts to the larger triangles to connect them to the smaller ones.
Third stage of digitilising the pattern.
My shapes were ready! I flipped one of the triangles to prepare for nesting and made sure to remove any duplicate lines using Rhino’s SelDup function. Upon further inspection, I realised that the smaller triangle was too large, which left limited space for interlocking. Thus, I resized it to 45 mm. Additionally, I adjusted the cuts on the smaller triangles to ensure they could connect with both small and large triangles. My pattern was complete!
Final digitilised pattern.
Nesting ¶
Once my pattern was ready, it was time for nesting. The goal of nesting is to position 2D shapes on a sheet in a way that maximises material usage and minimises waste, which is one of the key objectives for this week. Using Rhino, this process was fairly straightforward. I utilised the cascade array function, where I specified how many times I wanted to duplicate my pattern along the x and y axes, carefully placing the shapes as close together as possible. To avoid duplicate lines, which would double the time required for laser cutting, I exploded the lines of my pattern. Manually, I removed the overlapping horizontal lines that sat on top of each other and replaced them with a single, continuous straight line as the base for all the triangles. Once I was satisfied with the arrangement, I joined all the lines together.
Nesting process.
Pattern Colouring ¶
Before moving to the laser cutting machine, I had to adjust the colours of the lines for the machine’s settings. Since all the lines in my pattern needed to be cut, I couldn’t use black (which is reserved for engraving). Instead, I used red for the cuts that would form the interlocking system and blue for the outline of the triangles. This ensures that the machine will first laser cut the red lines, followed by the blue ones.
The coloured pattern.
Fabrics ¶
The last step before laser cutting was to select the fabric for my design. From the start of the week, I had my eye on a red felt that perfectly matched my vision. However, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough for my design. Therefore, I decided to pair it with a cream-coloured felt if the red felt fabric was not enough.
To prepare for laser cutting, I measured the dimensions of my nested pattern in Rhino and prepped one red and one cream sheet of fabric. I also cut a small piece of scrap fabric to test the laser settings before cutting the full pattern. Additionally, I measured the thickness of my fabric, which was around 0.8 mm, to help me determine the correct power and speed settings for the laser cutter.
The fabric choices.
Final Test ¶
Since I had some time before laser cutting the next day, I decided to print out the digital version of my pattern on paper to ensure that the interlocking system worked. The interlocking worked perfectly on paper! I also checked it out on my fabric of choice, which also worked, though it felt a bit less sturdy due to difficulties in hand-cutting. However, I believe that once it’s refined through laser cutting, the interlocking system will work flawlessly.
Final test with paper and fabric.
Laser Cutting ¶
It was time for laser cutting! First, I needed to check the machine’s speed and power settings to ensure it would efficiently cut through the felt fabric. I consulted the reference board, which listed settings for three different felt fabrics based on thickness. My fabric was 0.80 mm thick, so I used the settings for the 0.75 mm felt. I did a quick test by laser cutting a small square, and it worked perfectly! Now, I was ready to cut the actual pattern.
Settings and test for laser cutting.
I taped down the fabric, focused the laser beam as we had learned in last week's session, selected my pattern, and printed it out for laser cutting.
Laser cutting.
The pattern turned out beautifully, and my vision was coming to life! After the laser cutting was complete, I carefully separated all the pieces and was ready to begin the assembly.
Laser cut pattern.
Assembly ¶
I began by forming simple shapes, interlocking the modules, and testing their durability by pulling and stretching them. As shown in the video below, they withstood the stress well.
Forming the interlocking connections.
Tested interlocking system
Since I was creating a headpiece, I used a mannequin with a head to help guide the design. There wasn’t a set plan for the construction, giving me the creative freedom to experiment with different shapes and connections. I simply connected pieces, and if I liked the direction it was going, I continued. This freedom allowed me to explore multiple interlocking techniques.
If I inserted one triangle below another, the result was a flat shape. However, by inserting a triangle from the top, I could use the second interlocking system to add another triangle, allowing me to create 3D shapes and add volume. Another interesting discovery was the ability to overlap the pattern, creating a woven effect. I even formed small flowers to decorate the garment.
The assembling process.
The different-sized triangles were perfect for my vision, as I needed to adjust the size of the headpiece to fit the contours of the face. I also worked on the shoulder pieces, which gave the look of a short-sleeve bolero.
The assebling process.
Final Product ¶
The final result had a caged or even dominatrix aesthetic, but I was pleased with how it turned out. I also used some of the extra modular pieces to create additional items for the lab. It’s noteworthy that for this project, I generated very minimal waste. I used all of the pieces that were laser cut, leaving only the borders of my design as waste.
The final product.
Finally, in the spirit of open source, I uploaded my work and pattern to oscircularfashion.com, making it accessible to anyone interested in the topic of seamless interlocking.