“A Bag For My Grandmother – Dedicated To Alzheimer’s Patients”
Final Design Proposal
My grandmother is an Alzheimer patient. She recently had an accident while finding something from her bag. Her bag had no compartments, which made all her belongings disorganized inside. Her regressive behaviors made it difficult to move her body freely. I am exploring factors that hinder Alzheimer patients to live normal lives. Moreover, asking myself why they need special, purposeful garments. I plan to make a garment that is light and wearable. Moreover, to store cellular phone, wallet, and note book. These items are essential for them to search their families when they get lost. It will be made out of denim. Shoulder strap will be added for those who cannot hold the bag. Inside of it, there will be two separate compartments. On the surface, there will be pocket with zipper to keep crucial items.
Mood Board & Material Board
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- I also attached the fabrics (organza) on top of the mood board.
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- The images of swirling torrents are the metaphor of memory loss.
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- My main material will be denim, so I attached different kinds of them on my material board.
Project Sketches & Plans
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- I was inspired by the Chanel’s Gabriel Bag. The bag is light, handy, and got two shoulder straps.
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- It is important that the bag stays with my grandmother at all time. The bag’s distinctive shoulder straps make impossible for women to lose the bag.
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- Two straps are evenly distributed at two different sides of the shoulder. The bag can securely fasten to your body.
| Things I need to learn/find out | Actions I need to take |
| Find different kinds of denim |
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| How to make a bag out of fabric (ex. Eco bag) |
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| How to perform hand sewing technique |
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| My grandmother’s disease |
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| What can she benefits from her new bag |
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| Bridge | Describe the steps you will take each week to complete your final project in time. | DueDate |
| 3 | Proposal + pitch conference | Mar 13-15 |
| 4 | Start working on my mood board and material board. Think what kind of denims I need for my project. Different colors, thickness, etc. Ask my family about my grandmother’s current symptoms. | April 2 |
| 4 | Visit Garment District, and buy different kinds of denims. Get extra fabrics from my friend in Parsons. Finish mood board and bring it to class. Based on the information from my family, visualize the design of my bag for my grandmother. Then, finish sketching. | April 9 |
| 4 | Watch youtube tutorial about “how to make a fabric bag”. Cut the denims that I have, then assemble them. Make the body part, and roughly add a handle. | April 16 |
| 4 | Work on the inner side of the bag. Add compartments inside. Take a picture of my rough draft and show it to my family. Revise or add more details on to it based on their ideas. | April 23 |
| 5 | Final revision. Prepare for the presentation. | April 30 |
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- I bought this denim from garment district. The fabric is thick but light, and dyed in dark blue.
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- I bought one more denim with light blue color. I chose denim because it is sturdy. There is possibility that my grandmother can accidentally damage the bag. I thought denim bag can resist to the damage well.
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- I decided to deconstruct some of my jeans that I no longer wear. Different parts of the jeans can be excellent parts of the bag.
Process photos showing the making of the final product
April 2
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- I brought watercolor paint to school. These are the materials I need for my mood board.
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- I collaged the images of different denim bags on a paper, then painted it.
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- I also attached the fabrics (organza) on top of the mood board.
April 9
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- I bought denims from garment district. I also decided to use my jeans that I no longer wear.
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- I started to cut the fabric, and deconstruct the jeans.
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- I decided to use sewing machine to make a bag. I planned to watch Youtube video to learn how to use the machine, but my friend taught me at the open studio in school.
April 16
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- I detached the back pockets from the jeans, then sewed it to the denim. These pockets will be the compartments of the bag where you can put your belongings.
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- I sewed three pockets. The colors are all different. That is for my grandmother to distinguish the compartments more easily.
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- I made the fabric into a pouch. This is the body part of the bag.
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- I attached soft wool fabric at the middle part of the strap. When my grandmother is wearing this bag, I want her to know where to grab so she would not lose the bag.
April 23
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- Based on my seminar professor Lauren’s advice, I decided to attach the wool fabric on the body part as well. She told me that Alzheimer patients tend to prefer garments that are soft. I wanted my grandmother to feel comfortable when wearing this bag.
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- I hand sewed the fabric onto the bag. This is the outcome.
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- 90% is done.
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- My studio professor, Tamara, advised me to attach something to close the bag. I bought the velcro, and attached it inside of the bag. I only attached one pair for my grandmother so she would not need to put too much strength when opening it.
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- The outer compartments are really small, so I decided to attach velcro here as well. To secure the belongings inside.
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- This is how it looks when you put the items inside.
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- This is Yeo-Jeong Yoon, an actress like Meryl Streep of South Korea. She is in her seventies, and I personally love her style. She dresses casually and it makes her look natural and young. I decided to mimic her style for my shooting next week.
May 2
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- I chose grey cardigan, jean, white shirt and snickers. Those are basic items, but looks natural and elegant when you put them all together. It is perfect style for elders.
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- I chose the bag from Goyard because it is Yeo-Jung Yoon’s favorite bag. It looks very nice with the outfit.
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- Back image. It looks chic and comfortable.
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- I did my shooting at the Washington Square Park. The backdrop perfectly matched with the styling.
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- This bag was designed for Alzheimer’s patients, but can be worn by anyone.
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- Perfect styling for spring.
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- I was worried that my bag may be practical, but not visually pleasing. This shot changed my thought. It looks beautiful.
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- My professor, Tamar, advised me to make this soft fabric a muff that warms the hands and creates the tactile sensation.
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- I sewed the bottom part of the fabric. It is wide enough to warm a hand.
Link to final research paper
After my grandmother’s accident, I was deeply engaged with the elders who are going through health problems. In particular, Alzheimer’s patients. I wanted to design practical product that can make their lives better. They need a practical item. As their disease advances, they are unable to care themselves and experience behavioral issues. Gradually, their bodily functions are lost, ultimately leading to death. For them to communicate with their families and society, they must carry cellular phone, wallet, and note book with their information on. Therefore, they need a certain type of garments to keep their belongings. What I have come up with is a bag. A bag that can keep my grandmother safe and make her happy.
