For our integrative studio wearable garment project, we were asked to create a garment entirely out of paper and it had to be inspired by our partner’s fear. My partner Lulu wrote down scars as one of her fears, even though it wasn’t her biggest fear, I got drawn to the idea and visual effect of scars.
I did a vigorous amount of experimentation with this project starting with the manipulation of tissue paper with PVA glue. When I soaked the tissue in PVA, I realized the texture resembled crinkled skin. After it dried, I decided to paint it; only resulting in the most incredible effect. One obstacle I encountered was the unforgiving rigidity the tissue; the rigidity made it hard for me to apply this texture all over the bodice of the garment I wanted to make, so I decided to use the tissue and PVA texture as patchwork on the back of the garment. It not only resonated with my integrative seminar story but it also looked visually amazing. Originally I had a jacket in mind which included long sleeves. However, I had a lot of trouble rendering the sleeves because the newspaper was too delicate. I tried to use fabric softener to soften the sleeves, which worked incredibly however, attaching the sleeves to the garment deemed incredibly difficult. Finally, I decided to rid the sleeves completely after almost 4 hours of trial and error. The idea for the spikes came from the thought of how people usually get scars; from sharp corners. However, I didn’t want the spikes to be simply black sticks protruding out of the garment, I waned it to have meaning and relativity. I referred back to some of the museum researches Lulu gave me an got inspired by the color story of David Alfaro Siqueiros’ Collective suicide. I used a splatter technique to create a red and white printed pattern on a black background. I then cut the pattern into spikes and stuck it in a way that looked as if it was growing from her waist. I took the extra spikes and stuck it on the peplum detail of the vest. I loved the overall effect my vest achieved. I think it not only showcases Lulu’s fear in an incredibly visual way but it also represents me authentically as a fashion designer. The amount of work and risks taken in this project really validated how much effort I put and will keep on putting in my projects.
Presentation boards
Photoshoots
