Research Statement: The Hermés Birkin bag is emblematic of, and promotes and fuels, the unnecessary level of exclusivity and unhealthy material obsession that exists within the fashion industry; as long as items like the Birkin are around and popular, so will obsessive consumerism and overconsumption of resources. 

My research led me to explore many different fields and topics, especially consumerism and material culture in our society. The idea of consumerism led me to exploring the concept of practicality vs. aesthetic, and the idea of clothing worn only for a limited amount of time. This led me to wearable technology, something I have been wanting to get into for a while.

Artists Statement: For my final project, I explored adding wearable technology to everyday items. I wanted to combine the concept of a limited-use fabric like fiber optics, which are connected to a light source and therefore only usable as long as the light source is powered, with a practical and function item of clothing, like a windbreaker jacket. Wearable technology is emblematic of our fast-paced consumerist culture, where people will wear things that do not have an infinite lifespan, as technology is run on power and only works as long as the power source runs. Combined with the functionality of a waterproof windbreaker jacket, the AURA Jacket parallels the Hermés Birkin bag studied in my research in the way that it was originally an item created for functionality but has evolved into an item that is not at all functional and rather for aesthetic purposes.

This is my cover photo for the AURA Jacket, showing the jacket at night. This is my process:

I began with simple construction of the windbreaker jacket. I used waterproof Nylon as my base fabric. Then, I applied hand cut fiber optic fabric patches to various parts of the jacket including the hood, back panel, and rain guard. The fiber optic bundles were pulled inside underneath the arm and back of the neck.

I added details like a zipper panel and snap placket, as well as snaps, sleeve tabs, and pockets.

I finalized and hemmed the fiber optic panels. They finish in bundles as shown in the example on the right. In order to hide the fiber optic bundles and make them undetectable to the wearer, I lined the entire jacket with black performance mesh.

Thus began the most difficult step; lighting up the jacket. I learned how to solder wires, and used standard +/- wires to power up the jacket.

I went through 4 different types of lights until I found ones that worked; small LED lights (not bright enough), large LED lights (bright, but too large), 10W Halogen lightbulbs (started smoking and caught on fire), and finally used tiny snap electric blue LED wearable lights.

At first I connected these to a large battery pack, but as that was too heavy and too powerful, I switched to a tiny coin cell single battery, which worked to power the entire jacket.

FINAL PHOTOS

These are some the final garment photos for the AURA Jacket. For the daytime photos, I chose to go with a cold, icy toned backdrop and setting. The models’ makeup was all-white, and the background has a very industrial vibe, immediately giving the feeling that this jacket has some sort of technological component.

The nighttime shots were harder to coordinate. The fiber optic lights were difficult for the camera to pick up on, so multiple trial shots were needed until finally the right lighting was found. This was done by raising the ISO and lowering the shutter speed to 2.5″ meaning that the shutter was open for 2.5 seconds while the photo was being taken. They mainly focused on the back of the jacket and capturing the lights.

I also made a brief video to accompany this project. This video highlights the jacket and places it in a setting; a promotional video for the AURA Jacket.