India Roby

Bella Wang

Ideas:

For our product, we decided to design clothes from damaged and worn material. We want to first create an app/service that allows people to send/scan their old clothes for vouchers/cash, and then can be used to purchase new products on the app. Our app will focus on whatever we receive, mainly clothes. Our designs are not only sustainable but also trendy because we’ll follow the deconstructed look. In addition, we won’t follow fast fashion speeds, we only release new items 4 times a year, one collection for each season. 

Target audience- fashion lovers, everyone 20s-30s

-Okala Methods: 

Design to Reduce Material Impacts– Use recycled or reclaimed materials; Use waste byproducts

Design to Reduce Distribution Impacts– Source or use local materials and production

Design for System Longevity– Design for Re-use and exchange of products

Design to optimize end of life — design recycling business model

Final Project Marketing

1. explanation of raw material– the materials that [Echo] uses come from New York locals who want to see their old clothing transform into a more sophisticated and timeless item. 

2. usability and reusability– [Echo] works in __ easy steps: 1) scan your clothing items and our team will decide if we take the item for our future collections 2) if approved, feel free to drop off your items at our store. Shop around, get to know our staff, and mingle with other shoppers while you’re at it 3) depending on the quality of the item(s), you’ll receive anywhere from $10-$60 store credit that can be used towards your future purchases. It never expires either 😉 4) we’ll send you an update on when your item(s) were used in our new collection so you can shop that piece first!

3. target audience– women and men 20s-30s, fashion lovers and those interested in sustainability

4. Sustainability of product– we’re honest about where our clothes come from. We take in donations from regular new yorkers and team up with local consignment shops to give you amazing, quality pieces. Based in New York— limit carbon footprint by only shipping to new york. We close the reuse loop in the life cycle, provide jobs for local new yorkers. Release a collection 4 times a year, 4 for each season. We’re also honest about the cost of production and how much we pay our staff ~ we’re transparent.

Natural dye is a technique that I am very interested in and want to use it for my further projects. It’s is a very good chance to try it in sustainable system class with all the directions. I used blueberries for my wool and muslin samples and purple cabbage for my tied dye samples. 

I went to the greenmarket at Union square ，a place that I often visit after school.  The market only open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I bought blueberries, cabbage and some flowers from three different spots. I prefer the sellers that sell less categories. 

The most exciting part during the dying process is to see how the color changed by adding different mordants. Those mordants gives more possibilities of natural dye, and it allows designers create diverse samples.

The object that i choose is a lotus mandala of hevajra. Mandala is a very recognizable symbol of Tantric Buddhism（The Rubin). It can be use as a ritual object, or a devices for instruction. This beautiful mandala that made by copper alloy is about 12 inches high.  The overall color is bronze, and because of the time, the surface of the object is very reflective. This object is originally from the Northeastern India during 12-century, it takes the shape of a lotus.  The line of the shape is curved, conveys a feeling of purit and mysterious . With the open shape of the lotus, it also implies the meditation stage which is full of reality and pure. When i was in the museum, the lotus on the top is opened, but when I’m doing research online, the lotus is closed in the picture. So those Lotus petals are moveable. From the research, the sculpture can be close into a bud. While the lotus is opened, it reveal the sources of power found within. There are also figures on the petals, known as mahasiddhas. They are the founding masters of Tantric Buddhism. Those mahasiddhas are carved on the outside of the petals very detailed. We can clearly see the their posture and the objects around them. When the flower is closed, the figures inside of every petals show up. They are not carved on the petals, but they are 3D figures that standing in front of the petals. Every figure has different posture.

Under the lotus is a stalk. There are two snake-like shape on each side of the stalk. The stalk is made by curved lines, and there are also eight figures between those lines.

Citations

The Rubbin Museum，Lotus Mandala of Hevajra

https://rubinmuseum.org/collection/artwork/lotus-mandala-of-hevajra

I went to high line last week in a sunny day.  I’m very familiar with high line park cause I had been lived on 10th Avenue for two years. But recently, i got the information that 10th Avenue was called “Death Avenue”. 540 people dead during 1920s. Then the government moved the rail road from the ground to a upper level. That was the beginning of high line.

I often walk on high line cause it was the only place near to my previous apartment that full of green. High line is always very crowded,  but i have to say it is a good place to chill out and take a breath.

Obviously, high line is a human-made park, just like Central Park. Human’s trails are very where. There are sculptures, travelers, lawn and flowers that planted in lines. When I saw this things, i thought it was an excellent idea made by human that transformed the old rail road to a beautiful park, but the truth is that after this road was abandoned by human, glass and flowers grew by themselves and then, human came up to the idea of high line park.

Human’s behavior had always been the reason of environmental problems, removing human must be the most effective method to make the environment better, high line is a example. But can we really do that? I’m sure we can’t cause we re sharing the same space and natural.

The construction part of my Bridge 1 

Firstly I used a seam ripper to cut all the thread and seam on both of my garments. Then I took them apart and traced them on pattern paper.

After I got all my patterns, I placed them on my second garments and cut them out with seam allowance.

The process of deconstruction

In the studio class we are signed in group of two to deconstruct our garments. One of my garments is a crop that I bought from Brandy Melville. I bought it last summer and I love the blue flower pattern that printed on the fabric

The fabric of this garment is cotton.    It is so soft and comfortable when it touch my skin.

The second garment that I choose is a skirt. The skirt is made by a piece of dark blue flax, it breathes. I forgot where did I get it and there was no brand tag on it.

Flax always gives me a sense of nature. I like to wear the skirt in sunny summer day.

(I’m sorry that there is no picture for the second garment.)

Construction week 2

During this week I finished two big garments of my design, the corset and the skirt. It takes me two days to made the corset. The corset is composed by four parts, two front pieces and two back pieces. There is  one fake shirt collar on the front and one fake suit collar on the back. The unusual part of my design is all of my darts are facing to the outside. It made my sewing part very difficult.

Construction week 3

This is the last week of the construction part of Bridge 4, I already finished all the sewing part so I just need to put my zipper and buttons on.

I redid the buttons on corset for several times, because the directions of the buttons are confusing.   I finished all the construction part at 3am  in the morning but the results are great.

The inside view of my zipper

The outside view of my zipper

The buttons on the corset.

Studio Bridge 5

Reflection –  Bridge 5 is the time for us to go through the first year that I spent in Parsons. As a fashion design student, the most important part of this year is the three garments that we made in studio2.