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 – petal module design process.
4.2 Preparing the File for Laser Cutting¶
- Hairline stroke (
0.001 inch) - Red outline for cutting
- Vector grouping
- Export as SVG
Vector file exported for laser cutting (SVG).
If the SVG preview does not render in the page, you can download it here:
corel.svg
5. Modular System Prototyping¶
The module system was tested and assembled through interlocking joints to form circular and 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