Craft:
Theres are many different types of origami, 80 to be exact. In Chinese, Japanese, and Korean culture origami symbolizes good fortune. The craft of folding is a complex form of art that consists of many shapes and forms created by hand. “Folding”, which most of the time is labeled as “origami” was first invented in China around 105 A.D. It was brought to Japan in the sixth century and was strictly for ceremonial and religious purposes.
Garment:
A robe has multiple functions and has been apart of history for hundreds of years. There are also culturally different kinds of robes with different traditional purposes, but I decided to chose the familiar bathrobe we use when we exit the shower, or the ones offered to us in a hotel; the one that offers convenience for the average individual living in the western society. It is usually meant to be a loose-fitting overtop garment, occasionally without sleeves. Ancient Romans were the early adopters of the garment, and wore them throughout the 3rd century BC. Some robes also signified a sign of poverty, and peasants used to wear it in a toga-like fashion. Traditional silk Japanese robes were once an indication of wealth and prosperity. Today, a robe for us is something we usually wear before/after we enter the shower. It’s been modernized to a garment of comfort. The bathrobe we are familiar with though, was brought up in the 1920s, derived from french origin. Worn mostly after bathing or swimming.
Artist Statement:
Before the making process begun, I was heavily inspired by a documentary I saw called “Between the Folds” directed by Vanessa Gould which consists of scientists and artists dedicating their life to the medium of modern origami, and applying it to research. The technique of Folding is usually used with mediums like paper, I was intrigued in applying this craft for my desired iconic garment. The iconic garment chosen was a bathrobe, the ones we wear indoors for comfort. Origami is such an delicate and sacred practice so I was interested in meshing these two polar opposites together. One garment used at home in privacy in terms of comfort and warmth; and the other craft made folded beautifully with narrative behind it, elegant and graceful. I found it interesting to see what the outcome would be when combined together. Some challenges arose due to some of the restrictions origami folding practices have, as I was not making any of the traditional pieces, I was making a modern bathrobe that we wear perhaps after a shower. It was interesting to investigate how to transform and manipulate the prototype origami pattern into my iconic garment, but there were definitely some difficulties because origami itself holds many limitations in terms of the paper being attachable. The relationship between the chosen garment and craft stray so far apart, but I found it remarkable being able to link them together somehow through design, thinking, and troubleshooting. It was also fascinating to learn about all the different types of origami that exist, and see if I can find similarities in terms of the making process.
Process:
Fashion Sketches were the starting point, I misinterpreted the instructions in the beginning, and had a different approach of the project thinking I could sew with fabric and use the craft of fabric folding instead of origami, so the sketches don’t match the final product but it is still interesting to see the process and changes throughout.
First stage- experimenting with my interpretation of “folding”, wanting to sculpt a shape out of the newsprint paper.
First prototypes- What I can reference when moving onto the next steps of the project. After researching more ways to fold, origami dresses and coats were folded.
Second prototype- Slightly larger and now folded with tracing paper. Tracing paper medium chosen due to the fascination with its versatile abilities, easy to manipulate material, also element of transparency allowing light to pass through, allowing different interpretations and questions to surface when this material is used opposed to the newsprint paper.
Making final product- cut out squares of tracing paper, put them together to make the paper larger. Layered another square on top of each other to make the paper stronger and stiffer.
-Reshaping the origami to make the shoulders and collar more curved, trying to make it appear like a modern bathrobe, also folding the cuffs on the sleeves.
-Adding a robe to emphasize the appearance of comfort in the bathrobe
Added small folded prototypes to act as embellishments, also showing the first stages and differences between first and final product.
