Wearable Art

ephemera

WORLD OF WEARABLE ART JESSICA SMITH

Contents 4 Prompt

7 Inspiration

8 Execution

21 Principles of Design

Prompt WORLD OF WEARABLE ART COMPETITION

As part of the Pratt Institute ID Tech course led by Henry Yoo and Matthew Hoey, students were challenged to participate in the World of Wearable Art (WOW) costume competition. WOW is an opportunity for both veterans and newcomers to costume design to push themselves out of their comfort zone and to truly test the limits of wearable art. As students, we were pushed to come up with a concept for a piece of wearable art and execute it within a month, to be submitted by the WOW competition deadline of March 28, 2018.

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ephemera [ ih-fem-er-uh ] 1. anything shortlived or ephemeral 2. items designed to be useful or important for only a short time

Inspiration WE(AIR)ABLE ART

I was initially very hesitant when approaching this

my perspective and personal aesthetic. To do this,

challenge -- the aesthetic of many of the costumes

I started with a focus on material conservation and

from last year’s winners were much more dramatic

trying to push materials that would otherwise be

and over-the-top than most of my designs. I wanted

discarded to new forms. Specifically I wanted to

to tackle this challenge in a way that pushed me to

focus on taking temperary materials such as bubble

my limits and forced me to go for a more dramatic

wrap and plastic packaging and turn it into an eye-

design than I would otherwise go for, while still

catching costume.

ensuring the outcome felt like it was coherent with

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Sketching

Material Experiment

ts

References HAUTE COUTURE

When looking for references in the fashion world on which I could build my designs, I searched for (1) designers who used upcycled materials, and (2) designers whose work had a material aesthetic that would work with humble materials such as bubble wrap

Some of the best references I found were the Armani Prive Spring 2010 collection, the Chanel Couture Spring 2014 collection, and various pieces by Iris Van Herpen, including her glass bubble dress. I was also inspired by a purse by Jimmy Choo that took the texture of a bubble wrap sheet and elevated it to the level of couture, as well as the more accessible but still playful example of the pink bubble wrap packaging from trendy makeup company Glossier.

Moodboard

Materials

Execution DETAILS

Since I chose to work with mostly plastic materials,

could easily be molded to add darts and seams while

the traditional costuming methods of sewing

on the mannequin. To create the iridescent sheen

fabric together was not a very viable solution as

on the bubble wrap, I attached dichroic cellophane

the plastic ripped once the thread was sewn in.

gift wrap to the flat side of the bubble wrap with

Instead, after some experimentation with different

contact adhesive spray. Finally, the closure to the

fabrication techniques I discovered that through

dress was created by using industrial Velcro strips

the use of a Coverite Trim Sealing Iron I could heat

with 3M adhesive backing that was attached along

seal different swatches of the material together.

the underside of one of the back seams of the dress.

Through this method I also learned that the costume

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Prototyping

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On the Model

CONSIDERATIONS

One of the benefits of using lightweight materials such as bubble wrap and plastic sheeting is that a lot of volume can be created without weighing down the model. Through conversations with cosplayers and professional models, I discovered that one of the biggest considerations to the model’s comfort when designing a costume is creating a solid bodice that can help distribute the weight of the outfit. Especially when working with large skirts or trains, they told me that the weight from that rests largely on the model’s hips. To help combat this problem, I created a strong belt-like structure made of packing tape on the interior of the dress around the model’s waist to help the dress “rest” on her hips.

Visual

Elements of

Design

3D PRINCIPLES

When focusing on the final form of the dress, I

those axes, I began constructing the rest of the dress

wanted to use the challenge as a chance to apply

form. By sealing the bubble wrap with different

the 3D methodology taught at Pratt to a the field of

textures -- pleated, ruched, and random -- I

fashion. I decided to use a particularly compelling

created sections within the dress that constituted

moment in my 3D construction final that occurred

different volumes and visual elements. I used the

between two passing planes and try to convey the

seams where those elements met to represent the

visual intrigue in my costume design. To do this I

two main axis, and then used varying materials

began by sketching out where the axes might pass

and textures to convey subordinate elements such

in charcoal first, then took wire outlines and pinned

as a spiral pin or a chaos-like element of plastic

them to the form where the axes would fall on the

sheeting.

model. Once I was satisfied with the placement of

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“If you can’t make it more beautiful, what’s the point?” ~ Rowena Reed Kostellow

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Hey there!

My name is Jess and I’m an industrial design graduate student at Pratt Institute. I studied environmental science as an undergraduate at UNC Chapel Hill and am currently working on products with minimal resource consumption and waste production.

If you want to reach me, you can find me here:

email: jsmith22@pratt.edu phone: (980) 254-4074 website: jessleighsmith.com

Thanks!