Rosanna Li Graduate Collection BA Fashion Design Technology RMIT by Rosanna Li

fashion objects respecting material ecology by rosanna li

4 profile/brand

6 collection overview

8 conceptual

13 methodology

cON.TENTS}

28 social

l foundation

context

30 future directions

32 photography/spreads

52 contact

jean arp

source: guggenheim museum

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bRAND CON.CEPT*

\5 designer profile

Rosanna was born and grew up in Melbourne. Before studying fashion, she studied music, languages (Chinese & Japanese) and international affairs in DC, lived and worked in Japan and US and also did a bit of teaching in Australia. Always looking for new things, changing things, imagining new possibilities, design became worthy of career pursuit and was a world in which she finally felt at home.

f.o.r.m.e. fashion objects respecting material ecology

f.o.r.m.e stands for fashion objects respecting material ecology.It is a brand that values the drama of the fashion silhouette, minimal and playful aesthetics and fashionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role within a sustainable and progressive global community. The design style of the brand aims to be minimal & playful, with an emphasis on clean form and colour. Japanese wabi sabi ethos is present in the brand as well as a need to find balance. Ethos: Explore & Play Within the art world, a balance of straight edges and curves, stiffness and fluidity, masculinity and femininity- often creates an interesting visual tension.

The starting point for the collection- the world of packaging design- boxes and shapes that fit the objects we consume everyday- is a vibrant design area in itself with similar aims to fashion (to protect and attract) and similar issues to fashion (sustainability and waste). Imagining clothing as mere packaging and humans as mere products, we can imagine a dystopian/utopian future where private service UberWear hire subscribers to carry company advertisements though clothing or people can hire collective proxy demonstrators to march the streets to voice political unrest without fear of their own physical danger through service UberRally.

Playing on themes of protection, display and ritual derived from the world of product packaging, this is a highly sculptural (hence “forme” as brand concept) unisex, modular, reversible and flat packable mix and match collection using draping and deconstructionist techniques through 3D virtual prototyping with box diecuts, as well as hand screen printing on technical fabrics such as Tyvek 1056 and 1433r. The “Product” Collection explores the interplay between advanced technology, especially 3D virtual prototyping, and traditional design techniques in fashion design, while addressing some of the issues of waste in fashion. It targets a new generation of ethnically diverse urban-bred adventure/ style seekers with a social conscience living in a fast-paced, high density global community.

cAP.SULE cOLLEC.TION* pRO.DUCT}

Exploration of my concept occurred through the design process, a mixed media, multi-faceted approach that included both advanced technology and traditional fashion design tools. A version of 3D CLO Enterprise, one of the leading global software applications at the moment for 3D virtual prototyping, was used to trace out box diecuts and virtually drape and play with them to taste. Sketching, digital collage, manual draping, Cubism, manual and digital flat pattern making, deconstruction, construction as a design process, all intertwined with the virtual prototyping process.

A paper like fabric called Tyvek, which held large shapes well, tied well into the idea of packaging, with more opportunities and constraints within the material. Inspired by the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;glitchyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; abstract paintings of Gerhard Richter, I used hand screenprinting to add a human visceral element to cold hard technological results. Considering human nomadic needs and a context for my creations lead naturally to the world of camping supplies, lightweight technical performance fabrics, plastic hardware attachments and glow in the dark nylon rope, which are not normally applied in a creative aesthetic way. As an iterative process, the sequence of design tools was not predictable from the outset, but instead various methods could be revisited in any particular order.

cON.CEPT}

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One of the basic functions successful packaging is to protect and preserve the contents in transport. I explored various fabrics and forms likely to give the wearer a sense of protection and safety, including puff forms, quilting, traditional wool felt, and finally technical fabrics usually reserved for adventure sports and camping supplies, or industrial use such as the paper-like Tyvek 1056, Tyvek 1433r, calendared ion and lightweight polyester. Silhouettes were typically oversized for outerwear, eg. cocooned

protection

diecuts as pattern

Fashion is a perpetual search for new aesthetic forms to present the body and pattern making for good fit. Packaging diecuts are 2D patterns that form 3D boxes, in a similar way that pattern pieces are flat 2D shapes which form a 3D garment on the body.

Diecuts can be beautiful in and of themselves- combining artistic geometry with function and are wellsuited to fashionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s search for new styles. As a way of fashioning garments, how might these packaging patterns drape on the body? Playing with the more fluid material of fabric, what new silhouettes and design possibilities might exist? In translating the concept to wearable fashion garments through the design process, there is only the question of how far to go along the spectrum of conceptual vs. wearable garment. My brand is looking to be innovative so slightly more conceptually pure forms are what interest me the most.

The other primary function of successful packaging is to entice and attract a consumer and to inform the consumer of the contents, which is usually achieved through the surface print and colour, but also through the form of the packaging. Products in a series are often designed with consistent font, graphics and a compatible range of colours so that consumers can both differentiate them from other brands and differentiate functions within the product grouping. Again, large oversized forms tend to create a sense of presence amenable to display (The aim was to display the garment not to reveal the body so much). A set of bright colours to attract, applied with colour-blocking and a repetition of the logo was appropriate for both packaging and garment design.

display

Due to the variety of product types, there is a wide range of packaging shapes with different features, from simple to complex, angular or curved, some with built-in windows, special tabs, openings and closures and precisely cut lines, in order to attract, protect and keep contents in place during movement.

The brand aims to embody its values through its fashion objects, which are in turn an artefact of an exploratory design process through a number of major themes or concepts.

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source: chris floyd video series â&#x20AC;&#x153;the way i dress, vimeo

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ritual of dressing

Like the cork of a champagne bottle or a straw of a juicebox, a birthday present, or a can of beans, there is a correct procedure by which the contents are accessed by the packaging design and manufacture. Likewise, if an outfit can be seen to be dressing up the contents of the garment, which is the person, dressing even on a daily basis is a ritual. Taken to the extreme Beau Brummel and Dandyism within the history of menswear demonstrate the act of dressing as one which asserts oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s level of civility or social status. The choices- whether to include socks or leave them out, to roll back a shirt sleeve to the elbows and push up a sweater sleeve to display the layer of shirt underneath and coordinating patterns colours and fabrics, t he tattoos on the arm , and/or bracelets and jewellery,

eyeglasses and sunglasses, handkerchiefs in pockets, whether to dress fast or slow, to dress or be dressedare essentially choices, deliberate choices that make them rituals, which are powerful because they reflect the thinking process and personality of the individual underneath, the contents of the packaging as it were, and becomes part of the power of self-expression and public presentation that is fashion itself.

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source: chris floyd video series â&#x20AC;&#x153;the way i dress, vimeo

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\15 ritual as preparation

Exploring this theme further, the ritual of dressing tends to be a solitary private experience, although there are exceptions. The rules and accuracy are learned, and men go through the act of dressing, especially in a formal suit, as a way to prepare for the day. They metamorph into a different creature. It is a transformative experience. There needs to be a private space and a length of time to prepare. It might be seen as an art form. It is a way to self -acknowledge identity and place in the world. It s a kind of initiation. A kind of ceremony and perhaps a kind of celebration. Although the act of dressing is not seen in a public sphere, it is part of fashion from the perspective of the wearer.

ritual as mood

The dress ritual is often a serious affair. Compared to children playing dressups, there is a prescribed format and not much room if any for personal interpretation. Some might feel security in this, that there is an established order of things and things must be done just so, and to usher the formal process in the right way, pays respect to time honoured traditions which make the wearer, or follower of ritual also worthy of respect.

+ playfulness

My design goal is to bring sense of play, spontenaeity and a childlike mood, without sinking into ridicule. A sense of inventiveness. A garment might be seen as a game, a puzzle, to unfold, button up in new ways, inspired by packaging design.

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mETHOD{OL.OGY]

\17 product illustrations: we are out of office

> concept to garment

A fashion creation is usually the result of a combination of inspirations that flow together, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a question of staying open and playing with it all. Exploration of key concepts occurred through the design process, a mixed media, multifaceted approach that included both advanced technology and traditional fashion design tools. The process of designing from a concept entails initial experiments which are quite

literal translations from the original concept to the garment world. Slowly, as more garment features are included, one reaches a point where there is ample departure from both the abstract concept (which is usually non-garment related) and the world of garments and all the history it entails. At this middle ground do we find a satisfactory innovation which is both garment and an embodiment of an external concept.

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o r f

m e

\19 digital collage

Images of various packaging forms, boxes, milk cartons, plastic food containers, packaging closures like tear-off perforations or interlocking tabs, and placing them within an existing fashion silhouette, or as a superimposed silhouette, usually rotated and re-proportioned onto a blank croquis. These images could be combined with garments, and blended using layering functions within Photoshop. Each new image could also be superimposed onto another, cutaway, blended and so on.

illustration

Taking packaging closures, eg. peel away tabs, interlocking tabs, string-tie closures and superimposing them onto a garment in enlarged form, eg. a coat created an alternative to traditional zips and buttons and hence a sense of fun and play to how a garment may be worn. The enlargement of the original closure was a way to be playful and also a common technique to give an object more of a contemporary appeal. Oversizing can also be seen as a technique which is responding to the greater screen exposure we all experience through internet and mobile devices. Screen images typically dull textures and flatten real objects so that in order to gain the same level of emotional impact through a screen image, designers are increasing the size and texture of fabrics and patterns, the brightness of colours.

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virtual prototyping

An extensive series of box patterns were virtually draped on a 3D avatar using a version of 3D CLO, one of the current leading global software programs in this area. The program was instrumental in being able to efficiently play with proportions, view the drape from all angles, create/ delete/move holes for the arms and neck, in ways that are not physically possible or labour intensive and time consuming in real life. Switching pieces from the original box pattern around and joining with buttons allowed patterns designed to be boxes to morph towards the world of garment. Highly conceptual experiments were possible in a virtual environment, which was useful to explore my theme of packaging. Such images and subsequent videos are also useful for marketing as they provide a more creative and eyegrabbing image to attract people into the collection or label, without necessarily needing to be wearable or produced.

kind of fashion consumption. If we asssert that fashion consumption may not only include ownership of a garment, or even production of a real garment but an imagined state of mind which is built from the idea of a garment or visual representation of a garment, then virtual prototyping is one way in which to revel in many fashion moments without fabric waste.

After several coats and jackets had been designed, further variations were possible by subtracting pieces and re-draping, or mixing and transferring pattern Kate Fletcher in her book on pieces or groups Sustainable Fashion remarks that of pattern pieces viewing images in magazines is a from one style to another. Basic straps held pieces to the body. This is also part of the design methodology of deconstruction, pioneered by legendary fashion designers such as Margiela, deconstruction is a process whereby a finished garment made of many pieces is taken apart and reassembled, either in whole or part. It can be considered fashionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contribution to postmodernism which critiqued and revisited various historical eras and blended ideas into a new vision.

The emotional gratification and labour savings for the designer seeing a fully draped garment without needing to physically construct with fabric invests itself back into the next design experiment, making virtual draping a rewarding and efficient design activity within the wider design process from concept to finished garment. This is helped further by the fact that the program is pattern-based, so that each experiment generates its own blueprint, with precise measurements available at the click of a button. Simple 3D rotations allow designing in the round, with results beyond what can usually be conceived purely through 2D sketching. With the advance of new 3D sketching tools like Google Tilt brush, fashion design possibilities will go further again into the future, although this method was not explored within this project. During the draping process, both male and female avatars were tested in each style. Some styles suited one gender over another, others easily wearable by both women and men, lending the overall direction of the collection to be fairly unisex and versatile in nature. This helps to address issues of sustainability, where design maximizes garment utility, durability and versatility. This approach aligns with unisex trends in fashion which reflect more open and fluid gender identity structures within contemporary society.

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For an augmented reality experience, please download Aurasma app and hover your camera over the above image to activate video.

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\23 construction as a design process/ manual draping

Playing with finished toiles, manually draping them, either together, or in different ways, helped to inform the final construction phase with final fabrics. Cubism, the art movement which tried to portray reality through multiple points of time and location, resulting in a boxy perspective, inspired the look of multiple layerings.

screen printing

Manual screenprinting was seen as a way to reintroduce a visceral element to an otherwise sterile technical feel of virtually prototyped garments. A found object (dirty screen printing rag) became incorporated as an initial panel in a toile, and then developed into a standard feature of all outwear and tops. Consumer goods such as shampoo come in identifiable sets of packaging, with matching style features, so the collection was also unified along the same idea as packaging, with a few different colours, but essentially a colour block reinforced by the brand logo as the external surface print. Each garment â&#x20AC;&#x153;productâ&#x20AC;? could then then be part of one collection but also hold a degree of individuality.

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gerhard richter source: fastcodesign

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found objects

In the world of sustainable design practice, reuse/ repurposing of existing materials is worthwhile in that it extends an object’s lifecycle. It is also a worthwhile artistic act, as demonstrated by Marcel Duchamp, who saw the artistic value in a men’s urinary and famously rebranded it as a sculpture now worth millions and exists as a landmark in the history of the way we conceive beauty. During my toile development, I discovered a piece of calico which had been used to clean excess screenprinter’s ink in the printing studio at school.

The energy of the resulting marks, reminded me of Abstract Expressionist painters like Gerhard Richter, Willhem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko who valued the moment and the movement behind the brushstroke, the experience of painting as much as the final result. This lead to the idea of screenprinting abstract painterly strokes, large, to bring in a human visceral element to the collection which had hitherto been developed in a somewhat sterile virtual environment.

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fabric

Tyvek ÂŽ is developed by the Dupont company. It is an appropriate fabric for this collection because, like packaging materials it is lightweight, strong, waterproof, hypoallergenic, disposable and recyclable. It also prints easily with colour, text and graphics. It is inexpensive and can be repurposed from garments to tote bags, lamps, pencil cases, sportsbags. It lends itself well to a novel and fun unisex, transseasonal collection which is affordable and environmentally sustainable. Lightweight Tyvek is suitable for garments and the collection since it is a breathable windproof nonwoven fabric that has an attractive paperlike texture, conducive to folded, boxy forms. It is thermoplastic and lends well to embossing/vacuum forming experiments and has also been lasercut successfully. It can hold large sculptural forms and has a hi-tech look.

Over the past ten years, Tyvek it its full range of weights has been used in construction wrapping for buildings, sportsbags, lighting, kitemaking, wallets, handbags, backpacks, tents, raincoats, disposable coveralls, boatmaking, temporary shelters. Dupont also has a special recycling program for Tyvek. Tyvek 10 is a harder smoother fabric suitable for bags and possibly coats. Tyvek 14 is a softer fabric with a texture suitable for jackets, shirts, shorts, etc. It is also heat sealable and has been used for an award winning interior design furniture which is inflatable. The inflatability of the material triggered notions of safety rafts, and safety in general which related back to the concept of packaging, but also lead to certain human contexts for garment wear.

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modularity

nomadic needs

Whether by force or choice, from war, famine, social alienation or well-funded adventure recreation, an increasing number of people are finding themselves in need of clothing suited to a nomadic, mobile existence, often at the mercy of external elements. This is part of the current zeitgeist.

They could be worn inside out or with a single half as a whole garment. They can be wrapped and used as lampshades inside the home. The development of the anorak into a usable tent was in progress but not possible to fully execute within the bounds of time constraints.

Garments need to have features that are adapted to a nomadic lifestyle, including being lightweight, strong, low maintenance, and protect the human body from natural elements, as well as be useful in often rugged and potentially dangerous terrain. Visibility in darkness for SOS rescue is also appropriate.

flatpacking

A DIY production alternative made fmousby IKEA for furniture and trialled by James Pawson in his graduate collection for fashion, flat-packing reduces the need to cut & sew before retailing and increases customer interaction with the product.

multifunctionality

Research looked at ways to reduce cost, add value, increase user-centricity and therefore durability and loyalty to the brand and product. Amongst the solutions were flatpacking, modularity and multifunctionality.

Where parts can be interchanged and switched around by the consumer, the product becomes modular. The outerwear jackets and coats were designed in halves, so that each could be double up and worn in a symmetrical configuration or single sides in an asymmetrical configuration.

When one garment can be used many ways implications are also for increased sustainability and better use of exisiting resources. Potentially the outerwear can be stuffed with newspaper and used as blankets. Modularity, flatpacking and multifuncitonality are ways to achieve more versatile and cost-effective solutions suited to growing demands for mass customization.

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add.ress*ing. the zeit.geist}

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fu.ture directions*

\31 wearable tech

Wearable tech is an area which was not covered by this project but came out of the idea of billboards and advertising. LED lights can display messages and videos, augmented reality apps can also generate media content from real life images which may be prints on clothing and various electronic devices can sense pollution, distance, motion and so on which can make clothes a mechanism for greater safety and protection.

“uber-wear”

Opportunities to feature advertising on clothing, or carry messages on clothing which may be rented or even free and disposable. Wearers sign up on a common platform & act as conduit for messages from companies. Scenario 1: People are effectively walking Billboards for hire. You can make money this way. Scenario 2: Only poetry and art and nothing commercial Scenario 3: Clothing talks to other clothing

“uber-rally”

Imagine modern protests where the messages come from the clothing, people might be paid to walk in a protest and protesters hire people to walk for them (for safety). Legal complications may arise from those promoting racial hatred, misinformation or false advertising (much like today). Whether for economic, political or social goals, I would like to see if the jackets could be used to communicate messages, hold conversations, advertise products, and have people be paid for carrying advertising slogan on their jackets, and still be waterproof and usable in rugged terrain.

model/phillip cai