Week 03 — Circular Fashion¶

“Nature repeats itself in elegant layers — within every petal, a microcosm of structure and design.”

1. Research & Inspiration¶

1.1 Concept: Queen Euphorbia¶

Inspiration Source: Queen Euphorbia (Euphorbia milii)

Queen Euphorbia appears delicate yet hides strong internal protection.
Its spiral symmetry follows the Fibonacci sequence, the same structure found in shells, flowers, hurricanes and galaxies.

From this plant, I derived the idea of layered, repeating, interlocking structures, which relates directly to modular circular fashion.

Initial paper prototype inspired by Queen Euphorbia’s layered structure.

1.2 Artistic & Design References¶

Modular systems & zero-waste designers¶

Iris Van Herpen — parametric modular garments
Yeohlee Teng — zero-waste pattern cutting pioneer
Julia Koerner (JK3D) — modular 3D textile structures
Pauline van Dongen — transformable wearable modules
Open Source Circular Fashion Platform — global modular textile archive

These designers show how modules can be combined, rotated, mirrored and interlocked to create garments with endless reconfiguration.
This inspired me to develop petal-shaped interlocking modules.

2. Material Selection¶

Material: Natural Canvas Cotton
Why:
Cuts cleanly on laser
Biodegradable, recyclable
Holds form when starched or shaped
Concept:
Spiral repetition + interlocking structures = a circular, rebuildable textile surface.

3. Technique — Laser Cutting¶

Machine¶

CO₂ Laser Cutter – 50W

Fabric Settings (Canvas Cotton 1 mm)¶

Cutting Power: 45%
Speed: 30%
Air Assist: ON
Lines: Hairline (0.001 inch)

Laser cutting in progress on canvas fabric.

CO₂ laser cutter used for fabric cutting.

4. Digital Design Process (CorelDRAW)¶

4.1 Designing the Petal Module in CorelDRAW¶

I created the petal starting from a simple ellipse, applying node editing and Bézier curves.

CorelDRAW – Basic petal outline using Bézier tool.

4.2 Adding Interlocking Joints¶

To turn the petals into a modular system, I added:

top slit
side notch
central locking semicircle

These allow each petal to connect without sewing.

Interlocking joints added to petal geometry.

4.3 Preparing the File for Laser Cutting¶

Hairline stroke (0.001 inch)
Red outline for cutting
Vector grouping
Export as SVG and DXF

5. Modular System Prototyping¶

5.1 Paper Prototype¶

Before fabric cutting, I tested the joints on paper.

Paper test to validate interlocking system.

5.2 Testing Interlocking Joints¶

The modules successfully connected through:

top slit → flower-like clustering
side notch → chain formation
center lock → radial arrangements

6. Laser Cutting — Final Fabric Petals¶

When I realized that starch and water didn’t hold the shape as expected, I explored natural stiffening.

Applying starch mixture to shape and bind petals.

Drying petals in molds to preserve natural form.

7. Final Piece¶

The modular petals were assembled into a hand-braided headband, and leftover edges became tiny flower buds — zero waste.

Final headband decorated with modular petals.

Final circular fashion presentation.

8. Files (Required for Evaluation)¶

docs/files/week03/module.svg
docs/files/week03/module.dxf

Also uploaded to:
🔗 https://oscircularfashion.com/

9. Reflection¶

This week helped me understand how nature’s geometry can transform into modular, zero-waste textile structures.
Instead of a final perfect product, I focused on circularity, material exploration and iterative design.

10. References¶

Iris van Herpen – Modular couture
Julia Koerner – 3D printed textile systems
Yeohlee Teng – Zero waste fashion
Biomimicry Institute – Natural spirals
Euphorbia milii – botanical geometry