3. Circular Open Source Fashion¶
RESEARCH & IDEATION¶
Can we beautify our battle cries? In original societies, hunters-turned-kings proved their right to rule by facing great beasts. Lions, snakes, crocodiles and elephants came to signify immense strength, sovereignty, and authority. Bloodshed, scars and pain were proof of mastery of the wild, integration of the truth and imparting balance through courage and order.
For this week’s assignment, “Open Source Circular Fashion”, highlighted the social structure of our current paradigm is no longer kings shedding their blood for the protection of his people. In 2025, we save ourselves, connecting through the range and diversity of open source networks, collaboration and social exchange. What will we offer, what will we protect?
I am interested in this continuity for material development and production through the circular ethos. However, I was not preperared for the practicalities this would involve, shifting my brain from conceptual abstraction to specificity of simplicity...
References & Inspiration¶
Other Fabricademdy Alum that inspired this work are as follows:
⤷ Stephanie Johnsons ⤷ Shefali Desai ⤷ Eduardo Loreto ⤷ Alessia Pasquini
Tools¶
- Hand-made Paper Modules: design your concept by hand
- 2D/3D modelling on RHINO: create your modular element
- Laser Cutting Machine: cut your fabric for the interlocking
Process and workflow¶
PHASE 1 - PAPER¶
- My first ideas (and drawings) were aimed at composing circular modules to be worn on one side of the shoulder, onto the neck. My initial test modules were made on paper, which I found theraputic and engaging. I was able to attach circles together by creating ‘mini circles’ on a horizontal plane, with slits in the bigger ones to connect other clusters. I thought this was a trick but an ‘active’/masculine piece was missing to penetrate for a sincere 'hold'. In addition, circles stacked leave a triangular shapes that produces waste.
PHASE 2 - RHINO¶
- One of my first intentions was to create a more angular module, not circular as having no edges or lines proved difficult. There were three things I had to keep in mind with the digital iterations by essentially creating a digital puzzle piece:
Digital Puzzle¶
→ 0 WASTE : minimizing resource waste
→ TESSELLATION : a repetitive pattern, no gaps or overlaps
→ INTERLOCKING : a receptive/active relationship to each other
Being that I had to create edges for structure based on tessellation models and insert connections for the 'male' + 'female' parts based on the interlocking principles, I had to rethink ways of maintaining circularity, both in aesthetic and ethos. I simplified by searching for a new base shape. Triangles were a natural progression based on my initial inspiration of the "Bagzan" symbol of the Tuareg tribe and the modular stucture for inserts based on ⤷ Eduardo's design, whose open-source Rhino file served as a huge guiding light. In addition, the material would not overlap while interlocked, an issue I faced prior.
My idea took another path; I started reworking triangles on Rhinoceros3D. The initial module file produced a decent amount of waste so we shifted the measurements and changed the places these triangles were aligned.
Point I | BASE:
→ Use the Circle command to create three equal circles arranged in a triangular pattern.
→ Use the Line tool to draw center lines connecting the middle of each circle to a common center point (use End and Center osnaps for precision).
→ Offset [to make a direct parallel] in 3 directions of both the circle and the line. There should now be 3 circles and 3 lines. This defines the geometric relationship and spacing for the form.
Point II | CONNECTION:
→ From each circle center, draw tangent lines to the neighboring circles using the Tangent and End osnaps.
→ Mirror 3 perpendicular lines to align with each circle. There should now be 3 lines per circle.
→ Create curved connections using Curve → Blend Curve between the circles, following the tangent lines as guides. Delete construction lines once curves are connected.
Point III | TRIM:
→ Use Trim to remove extra lines inside intersections, leaving the outer boundary and inner arcs.
→ We no longer need the lines, as they provided the shape for triangular structure.
→ Enclose shape in an equilateral triangle using Polygon → 3 sides, snapping to outermost circle points to define form.
Point IV | REFINE:
→ Use Offset for interior cutouts of smaller circles.
→ Each has a different radius of smaller circles for tests. Measurements are as indicated [1st=slits, 2nd=3, 3rd=3.5, 4th=4]. We went with the 3rd for the final. File is ready for export as an SVG file.
PHASE 3 - TEST¶
→ SPEED : 70 → MAX POWER : 40 → MIN POWER : 15
This was my third time on the laser cutter within 2 weeks so I felt more confident with operating the machine. I decided to go with leather scraps. Felt was presented as the first option but I knew I wanted a sleek look that was less stiff. It took a total of 45-60 minutes. Based on the previous instructions from last week, I had to lay the material flat. There were 85 black triangles, 36 metallic triangles, 107 black ovals, 45 metallic ovals, 28 black stars and 12 metallic stars.
PHASE 4 - THE COMEBACK¶
