Integration and Decoration: Origami

I'm currently working on exploring the world of integration as a form of decoration in design. The perfect example of integration as decoration is origami inspired garments. It's more common than I realized to use origami techniques when designing clothes as many designers have done it, but perhaps the reason is that there are endless possibilities and amazing outcomes.

Designers Mauricio Velasquez Posada and Jum Nakao (see below) have come up with some incredibly successful designs using origami as an inspiration. However, it is difficult to tell exactly what material is used in these designs.  It looks like paper, but I can't be sure.  If it is not paper, they have managed to accurately imitate the properties of paper, which contributes to the design's success.  

 

Project White T-shirt

What a defines a T-shirt?  I used to think that it was its characteristic T shape.  However, after analyzing the T-shirt designs from www.projectwhitetshirt.com, it's evident that that isn't always the case.  Take a look at some of my favourites and you will understand what I mean.

 Photos from www.projectwhitetshirt.com

Common elements: a hole for the head and the colour white. 

... and that's about it.

The T-shirt: From Undergarments to Eveningwear

The evolution of the T-shirt is an interesting one that began in the 19th century as undergarments and slowly evolved into an acceptable outergarment and today is the most commonly worn article of clothing and a staple in every wardrobe (you can argue me on this but let's be realistic - who doesn't own one?).  It has even become one of the most powerful mediums for dissemination of information and expression in post-modern culture. 

However, I never thought I would see the day that the T-shirt became acceptable eveningwear attire, and alas, Jil Sander (SS 2011) took it in that direction.  While it is arguable that these outfits are intended to be worn as eveningwear, they certainly are headed that way.

 

 Photos from www.style.com

Inspiration: Neil Barrett Leggings

Photos from www.style.com

I love his juxtaposition of leather and stretch fabric.  It is important to note that leather does actually stretch to some degree and therefore could be considered a stretch fabric.  I will definitely keep this in mind when I am designing for the class.  It would be neat to explore the degrees of stretch from unconventional stretch fabrics such as leather.  Love the sheer leggings as well - another fabric that I will be sure to keep in mind in my designs.

Ctrl C/Ctrl X/Ctrl V

Design Study: The Singlet

Inspiration: Millinery Just For The Nonsense

Millinery is not really in my nature - I have found it increasingly difficult to become inspired for the class until this blog by Loren Anthony James-Wood came along. 

http://millineryjustforthenonsense.blogspot.com/

  

My favourite? The Steam Punk Pilot hat.

Raegan Went To RMIT And All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt

Assignment: Design a T-shirt using only geometric shapes

 

The Toile:

 

The Reflection: 

Looking back at this exploration, I am not sure that I went in the most exploratory direction.  I did not play around with the shapes as much as I would have liked.  Instead of exploring shapes such as triangles and circles on their own to see how they would drape on the body, etc. I just took the structure of a T-shirt body (a rectangle) and fit triangles into the rectangles.  I am disappointed that this is the direction I went with this assignment.  However, I did find it interesting that simple square shapes could make very nice fitting sleeves and a nice fitting collar with no alteration to the basic shape.  

Adventures In Stretchwear

 

With Shmuv From Melbourne

I am currently on a journey, both literally and creatively.  For all of those who don't already know, I am a 3rd year design student from Ryerson University (Toronto) on exchange for a semester in Melbourne, Australia.  While I've only officially been in Melbourne for a little over 2 weeks, I've been in Australia for a month and a half and am loving every minute of it.  However that portion of my journey involving hostels, kangaroos, surfing and goon is not the one that I choose to focus on in this blog, but rather the one that begins with my first class at RMIT, STRETCHWEAR GENERICS (there is nothing generic about this class!)

The most valuable part of attending RMIT is the ability to take courses with subject matter that is not available at my home institution and the opportunity to learn in ways that vary from what I am used to.  I chose to focus most of my time on the stretchwear studio with Ricarda Bigolin and Feride Peel for this reason... and to say that I am pumped about the course is an understatement.  (In fact, I was so keen that I showed up a day early... oops).  The course is experimental, explorative and conceptual in nature - dramatically differing from the technical nature of Ryerson's curriculum.  

Here's my class schedule: