aires

- 1 -

i res

project: Worn Identity semester: 2nd year 2nd semester by: Tamara Hoogeweegen coach: Ralph Zoontjens Industrial Design Technical University Eindhoven 12-06-2014

- 2 -

TABLE

E OF CONTENT 3Table of content 5Introduction ___________ PART I ___________ 8Worn identity - the research Identity & Body 12 Identity & Uniforms 15 Identity & Groups 18 Identity & Attributes 20 21 - Identity in what we wear? 22Identity & Wearables 23 - Is there a real you? - 24Identity & Wearables 25THUS.

___________ PART II ___________

Project directions 26 3D 30 Who am I? 34 Hot flushes 40

___________ PART III ___________

46aires 48Target group 50Hotflushes 52Inspiration- fashion fetishism 54Materials 56Iteration 1.

58Iteration 2.

60Iteration 3.

62Final prototype 64User evaluation 65Further development 65Discussion 66Reflection

- 3 -

- 4 -

- 5 -

INTRODUCTION

Aires, an underwear collection for menopausal woman to ease the experience of hot flushes.

This is the result of my semesters work. But before I elaborate on this I’m going to enlighten you about my process before getting to my final concept.

This report consists of 3 parts. The first part is a research done about the term ‘Worn Identity’. I wanted and needed to clarify for myself what Worn Identity means. Clarifying this enables me to define concept directions related to this term. So what

I did next was define three different directions which intrigued me. These are described in the second part of this report. In the last section I describe the direction I chose to elaborate: underwear for menopausal woman. Here I point out the details of what I made and what steps could be made for further development.

Enjoy!

PART - 6 -

T

1.

- 7 -

- 8 -

WORN IDENTITY // the research

I personally feel my identity is partially reflected in what I wear, but for me to understand the term better I needed to find answers to questions like: how do others relate to what they wear? If identity is unique then why do many people dress similarly? Does

what we wear really define our identity? To answer these questions I went through a quest of collecting information of different perspectives and combine it to show how I see the role of Worn Identity.

- 9 -

At the start of this project I took a closer look at the project description and made a mind map of what popped into my mind while reading it (see below).

Personalization Makes it more valuable

Shrink wardrobe??

What if it would help express identity?

3D printing?

- personalization?

- predesigned?

Research peoples identity.

How express Identity

Virtual & real life identities

//

Google’s definition of identity. Interesting how the latin origin means same while it’s also related to uniqueness.

IDENTITY

- 10 -

The first hits internet gave me:

- 11 -

//

B r a i n s t o r m f i n d i n g s a f t e r a d i s c u s s i o n w i t h m y f r i e n d E l i z a A l t e n h o f who studies English and Literature, and wrote a paper on identity.

Identity and otherness are complementary. It’s about the feeling of inclusion or exclusion of the subject related to the otherness.

Social constructions.

Otherness in general, means it comes from somewhere else. Not yourself.

Might relate to ‘alter ego’, other I, something foreign, something you don’t grasp.

Identity: things that are characteristic for the subject, stick to the attributes that fit to the subject. A subject always gives away part of personal, because it slightly adapts to a certain class/group. The subject looks for a reference in society, an identity in society.

There is a two fold when it comes to identity(/ies): personal and collective identity. These differ in motives and entity(s).

Nowadays it implies the difference, the role of identification.

Hegel: Perception of self through reflection of the other: otherness.

Identity Body

- 12 -

&

// scars.

// tattoos.

The body it self is part of a person and shows an identity on it’s own.

The body can be handicapped, the skin can have scars and it can all be personalized. Make up, perfume, piercings, haircuts, contact lenses, tattoos, plastic surgery.

The body works as a canvas.

Is it all part of our Worn Identity?

// hair color.

// piercings.

- 13 -

// make-up.

// handicap.

// iris. // fingerprint.

// travesty.

// smell.

- 14 -

Uniforms are worn for various reasons: corporate image, uniformity, homogeneity, standardized, identification, indicate levels, indicate religion or other group.

But do we only wear uniforms for specific means or does it also relate to our personal identity?

- 15 -

Identity Uniforms

&

- 16 -

- 17 -

They call their series Exactitudes: a contraction of exact and attitude.

By registering their subjects in an identical framework, with similar poses and a strictly observed dress code, Versluis and Uyttenbroek provide an almost scientific, anthropological record of people’s attempts to distinguish themselves from others by assuming a group identity. The apparent contradiction between individuality and uniformity is, however, taken to such extremes in their arresting objective-looking photographic viewpoint and stylistic analysis that the artistic aspect clearly dominates the purely documentary element.

- WIM VAN SINDEREN Inspired by a shared interest in the striking dress codes of various social groups, the Rotterdam-based photographic team of Ari Versluis & Ellie Uyttenbroek have been systematically hamstringing such permutations of received identity for ten years. They call their series Exactitudes, a contraction of “exact” and “attitudes”. It’s August Sander and Eugène Atget turned on their heads by Bernd and Hilla Becher - a direct assault on the mythic formula that photography plus the street equals authenticity.

It’s a perfect fit for an age that’s made the “cool hunt” a corporate pursuit. Of course the photos are starchy and obdurately posed and ever so consciously styled, because there can be no meaningful limit to the cross-contamination between those notions of a authenticity and supreme self-awareness.

- GIL BLANK

Identity Groups

Photographer Ari Versluis and profiler Ellie Uyttenbroek have worked together since October 1994. Inspired by a shared interest in the striking dress codes of various social groups, they have systematically documented numerous identities over the last 19 years.

&

Identity Groups

- 18 -

&

The Definition of Self Photographer Ari Versluis and profiler Ellie Uyttenbroek classify random people whom they see in cities around the world according to particular characteristics of their appearances and attitudes. They create categories which comprise of people who share the same attributes, and give each catagory unique names. This is the artwork they developed together for more than 15 years. We always belong to some sort of groups. But when we are classified into a certain “tribe’ by a third party, ignoring that reality, most of us shall be surprised to find out how different other people see us from the way we see ourselves, thinking “so this is me in other people’s eyes”. This gives us an opportunity to realize again how we are perceived in other eyes, irrespective of our will or intention, or reality.

What’s more interesting is that despite the fact that our real selves are left behind, we find other people very satisfied with their classification, which was based on the appearance and attitude we have not necessarily been aware of before.

- MASAHIKO SATO Here uniformity and personal differentiation meet. To what extend do you wear your personal identity? The worn identity seems to be standardized across society.

- 19 -

Identity Attributes

- 20 -

&

The question which rises in my head is: what do we do with our worn identity? Stand out or blend in?

- 21 -

- Identity in what we wear? // Aynouk Tan

Our appearances influence our identities, it influences how we feel. It’s the power of appearance. If I wear a sexy dress, I feel sexy, if I wear a ridiculous outfit I feel ridiculous. Aynouk dressed to get attention, she built a personal brand of her self. She sees fashion as a bridge between the inner and the outer.

What does it mean if the clothes we wear decide so greatly how the me is perceived, and how does that me feel about herself?

Does it say something about judgment, tolerance? Are we unique human beings?

- Fashion brands create air-castles. They create a MEANING, through media (in other words Marketing).Trigger insecurity, ideal image ans create the cool image.

- Fashion is a social relationship. People communicate through the meanings created through the marketing. The created air-castles are acted out as being the truth. Fashion is a lens through which we see the people and the world around us.

- Even authenticity is a brand, it’s also constructed (example DOVE).

There is no authenticity in a consumer society, It’s the holy grail of fashion, it’s only through consuming, shopping, dressing through which we can construct an identity, a sense of the real me. The real me is a combination of fabricated meanings, air-castles (marketing) that we are projecting on our selves and others.

So we live in an illusion were we only see, meanings, air-castles that are made for economic gain which we have internalized. It too often results in preconceived notions of appearance, stereotyping and judgment. If identity is a construction we can choose any role we want. But with the knowledge that appearance is nothing more than a facade, we can change our ways of seeing.

I am never what I wear.

Identity Wearables

- 22 -

&

So as Aunouk argues, are it the brands who tell our stories?

- Is there a real you? -

// Julian Baggini

knowledge

believes

you desires

memories/ experiences

You = It’s the combination of your believes, knowledge, desires, experiences and memories, that create you. It’s the collection of experiences, it’s the story you tell.

We can shape and change ourselves.

The true you is not something you have to go searching for as a mystery, in part descover and in part create.

- 23 -

& Identity Wearables

- 24 -

T

THUS

- 25 -

Thus?

_ You aren’t what you wear. _ Identity is the story you tell. _ Fashion identity is formed through social scripts. _ Fashion is there to aid us in our character choice.

With these conclusions I stated that if a product is part of the story of who you are

then its part of your identity.

Mugge (2007) described different ways people can bond with product, amongst which the following: _ brand attachment _ self extension _ involvement _ nostalgia

With this research and clarification in mind I was able to define three different direction in which I could continue with my project Worn Identity.

.

PART - 26 -

T 11.

- 27 -

- 28 -

PROJECT

i d

e r

t c

o i

s n

- 29 -

1.

3D Printing

2.

Translating personal story

into wearable

3.

Menopausal hotflushes

3D 3D - 30 -

printing Before starting the project I attended an event: Hypercrafting fashion at Waag Society. At this event there were different experts in the field of fashioning technology, they gave talks and afterwards one could attend different discussions.

I joined the discussion with Pauline van Dongen about the movement of 3D printing in fashion. During this discussion I learned about the

role of materials for 3D printing garments. How the materials used are being developed and how materials are being combined to give it certain characteristics. Pauline pointed out that 3D printing has mainly been used to make very much sculptural wearables, but how can we bring 3D printing to the streets.

- 31 -

With this discussion in mind I started to wonder about where does the value of 3D printing lie?

_ printing on demand ----- no stock ----- less trash

_ personalization ----- fitting to body

----- self designing

_ recycling of materials

_ less fast fashion

_ straight from idea to 3D print

_ printing takes quite long

I wanted to see how can I use the values of 3D printing and translate it to wearables that relate to the identity of the wearer.

- 32 -

// I ordered the Print Shift magazine, a print-on-demand publication by Dezeen. The magazine is about: ‘How 3D printing is changing everything’.

This magazine gave me insight into what has been done, who are known players in the field and what are the speculations about the future.

- 33 -

// The reasons I wanted to go in this direction are pointed out in this post-it.

But in the end I didn’t go for it, mainly because the starting point would be to develop something using a 3D printer, just for the sake of learning and using 3D printers.

- 34 -

who am I? This idea started when I told the story of who I am to a fellow student. She was quite overwhelmed as the story seemed so much longer and complex than expected.

I grew up in different countries, I was brought up bilingual, went to different schools and I’m doing a second bachelor right now. The story of who I am is a complex one.

This brought me to the idea of maybe translating personal stories into wearables. These wearables could then be a medium of telling your who you are.

For this direction I thought of using generative design as a means to translate personal input into a personal output.

who am I?

- 35 -

// KnitID - by Olga van Zeijl What can your sweater say about you?

Symbols about personal taste or interests, information that reveals the identity of the wearer.

It is a way to express the midst of increasing globalization and mass individuality.

Cultures lose their traditions, authenticity is becoming harder to find. Everyone is different, why keep that under wraps?

My idea

So who am I?

So who am I?

- 36 -

- 37 -

// my photo.

My first idea was to collect a photo, a mindmap and a personal moodboard to catch the story of an indivudual and then translate than into a generative design.

// my mindmap.

// my moodboard.

- 38 -

mapping the idea

- 39 -

// The reasons I wanted to go in this direction are pointed out in this post-it.

Also this direction would be very much driven by the technique of generating personal output from personal input. But in the end I didn’t see what it would contribute.

- 40 -

The menopause may be seen as the end of fertility. During the menopause the body goes through a hormonal change which causes changes of the body when women get to their fifties. It may cause distress in self perception.

During the menopause hot flashes are experienced. These are perceived as being embarrassing, annoying and causing irritations.

At the age women start experiencing hot flashes they have generally established their identity in the way they live, in what they wear and how they move. As soon as they start experiencing hot flashes they adjust the way they dress and take the chance of getting hot flashes into account in their daily lives.

Basically there is a clash between the nature and nurture of this target group.

My idea was to design underwear to ease the experience of hot flashes while they can maintain their established identity.

_ Menopausal _ hot flushes

- 41 -

- 42 -

- 43 -

I discussed my different ideas with various people and wrote on the post-it’s why I prefer each project. Finally I decided to continue with the idea of making underwear for menopausal women to ease the feeling of hot flushes, as it’s a practical topic, there seems to be a need for it and is a project that interests me.

PART - 44 -

T 111.

- 45 -

- 46 -

a i res

- underwear for women in their menopause -

- 47 -

The starting point for aires was the thesis written by my brother and the conversations it rose with the target group.

From this starting point I started to dig into articles and the web, to understand better what hot flushes are, how they are experienced and what I could do about it.

Besides making underwear that would ease the experience of the hot flashes I wanted the underwear to also make the women still feel sensual and feminine. Aires should be elegant, simple and comfortable. I choose the colors dark blue, grey, beige and light blue fitting to this idea. Further more I wanted the bras to show the female curves, without emphasizing it too much, therefor I didn’t use lace or see through materials. Aires focuses on showing the female curves by using right cutouts and shapes, without revealing too much.

Target

group

- 48 -

Women in their menopause are between 40 and 61. The frequency hot flushes are experienced varies amongst the target group but is quite consistent per individual. It can be experienced monthly or weekly basis. The women who experience hot flushes on regular basis can have it from once to ten times a day. The experience of regular hot flashes can perssist over one year to over 5 years.

Hot flushes are experienced as an uncomfortable feeling of heat from the breasts upwards toward the face.

The right page gives a visual overview of the target group.

- 49 -

HOTFLUSHES - 50 -

in academic articles

_ Basic knowledge: Before making I created an overview of the theoretical knowledge. Making an overview of the academic research gave me insight into the academic terms and the research done so far. I noticed that the focus has mainly been to find a medical solution

rather than a non invasive one.

Furthermore I got insight into different ways of cooling the body and at how a smart materials such as Phase Changing materials has been evaluated.

_ How can it be measured:

- 51 -

_ Influence of outside temperature on hot flushes:

_ Smart materials:

Inspiration breast neck cover

- fashion fetishism - 52 -

- 53 -

m - 54 -

When designing a bra for menopausal women many things need to be taken into account starting with the characteristics of bra and then also taking into account the fact that the target group are menopausal women.

For a bra the textile used need to be stretchy to adjust to the body movements and curves, but at the same time it needs to be strong to give good support. For the case of hot-flashes the material needs to be airy, not retain heat, absorb moist and dry quickly. Fabrics used in sportswear already integrate many of the characteristics which would suitable for the bras.

The specific materials I looked into were:

- Cool feel fabrics Singtex developed a textile called S.cafĂŠ which integrates elements of coffee to produce a textile that just coffee controls odor, quickly moves away moist from the body and feels cold. There are different companies which have developed cool feel fabrics.

- Thermocool THERMOCOOL™ fiber rapidly evaporates moisture thanks to its unique fibre mix. The fibers are designed to provide added evaporative surface, outstanding moisture transport and allow enhanced air circulation focusing energy on the evaporation process.

aterials

- 55 -

- c_change A textile developed by Schoeller. c_change is a wind and waterproof membrane which independently reacts to changing temperatures and activities. Depending on the situation, breath-ability or heat-retention increases or decreases. As a result, c_change™ always ensures a pleasant body climate.

- Phase changing materials Phase changing materials (PCM) can store heat by changing its phase and when the temperature decreases it releases the heat again. Outlast is a company that has developed fabrics, yarns, coatings and fibers with PCM. When I learned about PCM’s I first

thought this would be the ideal material.

But after reading papers learning more about the specifications, I figured it wouldn’t provide the perfect solution.

The amount of PCM needed would be too much to integrate into a bra.

Furthermore the temperature increase in the chest area is very little, the feeling of increased heat comes from the inside of the body. Besides the skin temperature also the outside temperature is of influence on the PCM. For further development of aires, the mentioned materials should be tried and tested. PCM could work to regulate the temperature changes but besides PCM also a more active cooling is necessary to ease the feeling of heat coming from inside the body.

iteration 1.

- 56 -

deep cleavage air wholes elegant colors

- 57 -

iteration 2.

- 58 -

- 59 -

Based on the previous iteration I wanted to continue with the idea of cooling the body through ventilation. I thought of letting air travel through tubes and have wholes where the air comes out. The placement of the holes would be in the area near the neck and upper chest. For this iteration I integrated a small hand pump to generate the effect of air going through the tube integrated into the seam of the bra.

When I let my user wear the bra, the surprise of air coming out was a positive one. Based on this I continued with the next iteration.

The shape of the bra appeared through the usage of the tubes which already had a shape which led me to integrating the curves into the design of the bra.

- 60 -

how to integrate air in the bra

initional sketches of my next iteration

teration 3

For this model I collected al the measurements of my user and started making the bra. I continued based on the previous iteration. I took the curved lines and also integrated them in this model. The colors I used this time are more lighter colors giving a lighter and summery feeling.

While making this bra I encoutered a problem, the moment I wanted to add the air tight fabric with airways I realized that if I would place it under the border the air wouldn’t be able to pass throught as the bra is tight to the body.

So I had to make a different model there I could more easily add the air ways.

- 61 -

final prototype - 62 -

a i res

- underwear for women in their menopause -

- 63 -

- 64 -

User Evaluation During the project I had regular contact with my target group. I had discussion rounds with my mother and aunts where I showed different materials and they told me what they tend to to when they experiences a hot flush. Most of them told me they wave a paper at themselves, want to go outside and un cover their upper chest.

I gave my mother cooling gel pads which she encountered as easing the hot flush. This could them also be integrated in a further development of the bra.

The final prototype I decided to continue with the method of cooling thought ventilation.

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT My final prototype of aires, the bra for women in their menopause, needs many more iterations to become a final product. The way it is now is too robust.

When trying it on my user I noticed that the airways are too visible when wearing a shirt. So the airways should be more towards the center of the chest where there is less tension of the worn garment over it. Furthermore the ventilator now is too big. For further development I imagine having a module on the back of the bra that is removable to be able to wash the bra and if necessary change the batteries. When the bra would be worn the module can be put back on. The current ventilator should then be replace by either a couple of micro fans which would still generate enough air movement. While doing online research I also found the dual piezo cooling jet, developed by General Electric. This element generates air movement through two vibrating plates.

The size of the piezo cooling jet is much thinner that the current micro fans, which makes it interesting to integrate into wearables.

Also the placement of the button would be on the side of the body. What I now used as a button could also be some other kind of activator which might integrate better into a wearable. Then

- 65 -

when it comes to the fabrics there is also room for change. In the materials chapter I described various materials, these could be tested and applied.

DISCUSSION The overall first reaction of people when I tell them about my project is positive as it is to the point and people can really imagine how it can be quite useful for women. Feedback I got from Lou Feijs was that I could also look into other elements to move the air as the ventilator developed for computers aren’t made to push air through spaces with obstuctions. This might be the reason that the air coming out of the small wholes right now isn’t strong enough.

More air pressure would be needed.

Also the feedback I got from Heleen van Heel was useful. She pointed out that it doesn’t have to be hidden. Maybe it’s better to instead of hiding the experience of a hotflush, one can show it so other people also know, but still in a subtle way. Heleen proposed something like a cooling scarf, then other people will see when you use the scarf but at the same time one can hide oneself behind it as the hot flush is experienced as being embarrassing and annoying. Another idea was to have a cooling collar.

For further development these would be directions of exploration.

At the beginning of the project I had a long research phase, even thought I often say I’d like to start working hands on as soon as possible. This time I came to realize that I need to have a clear understanding of the subject before I can start making decisions of what I want to do. Therefor I first clarified my understanding of the tem Worn Identity and then mapped the different directions, which helped me find the reasons to for each direction.

Still I got stuck in choosing between personal learning goals and pragmatic solutions. In the end what helped me out was discussing with other people about my directions. I became aware of how important the people around you are to be able to reflect together on choices made, in this way you can combine different opinions and experiences to make weighted choices. I know I tend to take long making decisions because I want to weight all the options, but talking with others and confront your ideas with others opinions might make this process

quicker for me.

The angle I took on the project is a pragmatical problem but still very personal, this required a different way of working than I’ve done previously. What I wanted was to make a working prototype as the problem to design for is quite clear.

But precisely because the problem is so clear the design choices are more difficult to make, because every choice you make affects the user and in that case your intuitive design choices might be completely wrong. For this kind of design project one needs to get as close as possible to the user as possible. As I was able to use my mother as a target group she was quite easy to approach on such a delicate topic, but as the experience of hot flushes can vary a lot I would also need more stories.

For this project I could have chosen to focus on the purely pragmatic side of easing the experience of hot flushes and test different methods of cooling and integrate it in existing bra’s for example, but I choose to focus more on the aesthetics and the making of the bras. As Simone de Waart said: ‘it’s an interesting and del-

icate topic which can be quite hard, and then you even made bras yourself which is another challenge’. By making bras I got to feel the characteristics of the materials which led my design in a certain direction, by making and shaping a bra one gets to know how one can make a bra while integrating cooling in a fitting and aesthetic way.

This project thought me that I really like getting to know how characteristics of materials can already offer so many solutions, but I felt I was held back to really explore with them as they aren’t easy accessible. I also came to realize how I like working on a pragmatic problem it makes me feel the end product can be really appreciated by the end users. And I learned that to make a final product one needs much more time and explorations to include the pragmatic solution finding challenges, together with the making and shaping process. The semester made me aware this are the things I like to be doing and I want to continue with in the future.

eflection

R

eflection

- 67 -

- 68 -

- 69 -