If I were to take this concept further I would look in to do some more complicated and daring designs - maybe adding sleeves or a collar. I think doing a range in this style would be really effective and interesting. It offers the prospect of being ready to wear as we saw the versatility of the triple dress - being designed as a 3 person garment it also suited the individual.

What would happen if we used a different fabric? A stiffer one or maybe incorporate my idea of knitting or Becca's idea of reflection by using a metal?

Final shoot . . .

For the photos we decided to shoot in a 'hard' area to contrast against the soft draping of the jersey. I think this has worked well.We used a fuji instax camera rather than a digital camera as we liked the grainy quality it gave. We have shot both the triple and conjoined dress using similar styling for both. We wanted to show that they are ready to wear garments and would not look out of place on the streets. We used Dr Martens, a leather jacket and a dark lipstick to create a minimal grunge look.Though I think this shoot would of also worked in a studio with stark detailing. We have shown some of the variations of the triple dress within this shoot again to the versatility it possesses.

Experimenting . . .

Once we had made our first dress it was intriguing to see the versatility of it. By arranging the arm and neck holes in different positions created interesting shapes, thus altering the drape of the dress. We even had a go at seeing what it would be like with 3 people in it (still looked good, however very impracticable). 

Here are some of the pictures we took. . .

Final Making

Final Making

(group post)

From our toile there were a few differences we needed to make to our construction process for the final garments. 

From using two different types of jersey, silk and a heavy cotton jersey, we could decide what we wanted to use. We didn't like the sheen of silk jersey but liked the weight of it, however we didn't like the weight of the heavier cotton jersey. We decided to use a lightweight cotton jersey in pale grey for both dresses to keep the dresses consistent. We feel this fabric will also give our dresses the best drape.

We also needed to finish our final garments properly, as we only overlocked the edges of our toiles as it was too small to finish neatly. We decided to use the double stitcher to finish the neck, armhole and hem as this gives the dress a more sportswear look. 

Because our pattern pieces were so large, we also had problems fitting them on our fabric to cut them out. This meant the conjoined dress had to be made slightly shorter however we were happy with the changes as the general look of the dress wasn't altered in any way. We also realised when we made the final dress, it would have been too long if we had kept the original measurements. 

From doing our toile we couldn't decide which design we wanted to pursue for our final piece - so we decide to do both you know push ourselves a lil bit!

Toile time . . .

(group post)

We thought it would be a good idea to toile 2 of our designs to see which would work and best reflect our concept.

The triple dress

The pattern

1. Draw around a basic dress block straightening out the waist.
2. Add 4cm to the side seam.
3. Add another dress block to create 1 and 1/2 dress pattern.

The final outcome.

We were really happy with the outcome of the toile. The shape expressed the concept just how we wanted it too. The weight of the fabric created a good fall however we did not like the sheen it had as we thought it coincide with the androgynous style we are after. 

The conjoined dress
The pattern

1. Start with a full dress block
2. Add a half length, full dress pattern to either side.
3. Position a full dress block in the right corner.

The final outcome

Again we were really happy with the outcome of the dress. with the same concept we wanted to create what would be a dress that 'could fit' several people in but for one person so the extra shapes will create drapes.The weight of the fabric we felt was too heavy to create the folds we wanted.

The next step . . .

(group post)
The next step is to design and make a final garment as part of a group of three, based on the techniques we have learnt in innovation design and innovative cutting. Looking at each of our research, blogs and designs, we have collaborated ideas based on our concepts. We have decided to make one of Natalies designs which is based on the concept of 'connection' which also ties in with Kellys ideals. Taking inspiration from the exhibition ' Future beauty: 30 years of japanese fashion' that we attended at the Barbican Centre in London, we have decided to produce two garments. Our first piece is a conjoined triple dress, made from a light weight jersey, as we feel draping will be achieved best by this weight of fabric. The colour choice of our fabric also ties in with every ones colour palette. The second garment (made from the same stretch jersey) is another conjoined dress, however it is an altered design and pattern, as we felt exploring different variations of the garment would push our concept further and begin to develop a range.

Collaboration . . .

To progress on to the next stage I had to work within a team of 3 to design and make an innovative piece. 
My group consisted of 


Natalie Martin http://natalie-martin.blogspot.com/ 

and 

Becca Lloyd http://rebeccaelizabethlloyd.blogspot.com/

We shall see what happens next.                 

The beginning of ideas . . .

Here are a few basic ideas to get the ball rolling looking at shapes, technique, detailing and general development from my research.

Identifying . . .

Looking back throughout my research there are several ideas that I have picked up on. 

Continuous lines. This has developed from the original idea that in the early 20th century nothing was wireless, communication devices were connected by wires, switch boards and manual exchanges. This then lead me to look in to other things that were made up of this idea. Will Scobie's illustrations are created using one line. These illustrations come from a simple idea but look complex. How could this be interpreted?

With this concept in mind I progressed on to looking at other forms of continuation. It got me thinking about the body and the brain. It's weird to think that the whole body is controlled by the brain and that the brain is essentially one continuous line. You can view this by something called a cerebral angiograph. Every ones brain creates different shapes and lines showed by the dye used. Could this dying process be used within a garment making every garment individual to the wearer?

The other main idea I looked at was communication this developed from the original brief that we were given and relates to the first concept I had. I made a 'telephone' out of 2 plastic cups and a piece of string the shapes that create from it gave me ideas on shapes and also got me thinking could communication be featured within a garment?

Overall the key things I have got from my research are . . .

1. One continuous line 
2. Dying techniques 
3. Garments being individual to the wearer
4. Garment being linked to the wearer and there body
5. Communication within the garment
6. Knitting/crochet with one thread
7. Sound produced through the garment
8. Shapes to have a simple but with complex ideas

Knitted innovation in fashion . . .

(http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/2003.79.3)

&

(www.isseymiyake.com)

Knitting (the technical) . . .

Woekshops . . .

Subtraction cutting.


One of the workshops that we took part in during this module was subtraction cutting, this was pionerd by Julian Roberts.


Within this workshop we learnt how to create complicated shapes from in essence a simple cutting technique. 


This could be a possible process in which I design around. . . 
Instead of sewing 2 pieces of fabric together to make a 'bag' just use one piece on the fold and make a 'bag' out of that.


You could also use inspiration from Issay Miyake's design 'King and queen' and leave an excess of fabric trailing behind of the subtraction dress.


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Pattern Magic.


The other workshop I took part in was making a Deppari shirt. This workshop was based on Japanese style of pattern cutting.

This style of cutting I don't think is relevant to my designs and concepts as it involves several pieces rather than one. However it was a good experience and has given e food for thought on things that are possible within pattern cutting.

More installations . . .

Transparency . . .

Looking back at my blog I got to thinking about the cerebral aniograms that I previously looked in to. 

This shows you the network in the brain of cerebral cortex which is linked to the nerves in the body. These nerves are the ones that make you move.

Is it possible to undertake this within a garment?

It also got me thinking about x-rays, skeletons and arteries. Bones are all connected in a sequence. If any one bone was missing or out of place the body would not work - breaking the sequence loosing the continuous and free movement that the nerves provide.

this made me think about x-rays though it is not possible to make a garment in to an x-ray machine the proses of changing the skin and muscle from opaque to transparent is something that could be interpreted in to clothing. . .

Intimacy white and black - developed by Daan Roosegaarde, Maartje Dijkstra, Anouk Wipprecht, V2_ Lab (Simon de Bakker, Stan Wannet, Piem Wirtz) and the team of Studio Roosegaarde (Peter de Man, João Carneiro).


The garments are made of electrically-sensitive foils that become opaque or transparent according to alterations in current.


Intimacy black - becomes transparent as someone gets closer.
Intimacy white - varies in transparency depending on the wearer’s own interactions with the dress.


This new technology could be used towards my idea that if you could make skin transparent why not a garment.
This could be taken further by linking the transparency to for example every time the heart beats it will flash transparent.


(Info from http://www.v2.nl/archive/works/intimacy-black)

Artist work . . .

Jean Shin,

(http://www.jeanshin.com)

This artist work does not have the same concept as I do, however the final result does relate to my project.


Though come to think about it she is still showing a way of connecting people through a strand. I like the idea of a web - a web is like a network much like the phones lines in the twentieth century. This could be interpreted in to garments i.e a jumper it could be knitted or crocheted together with a connection line within the jumper.


I would have to look more in to the technology of this . . .  

This installation piece is by Isabel Bergland

This installation piece is by Isabel Bergland.

She knitted a room with built in garments from her previous collections. Each wall weighs 506 pounds it is all free standing, with the centre piece being a knitted tree. 

"If I saw the tree as knitted maybe someone else wouldn't"

It took 14 people 2 months to construct this with size 17 needles. 

(Information and pictures from KnitKnit profiles & projects from knittings new waves by Sabrina Gschwandtner)

I like that Isabel has used knitting to create a 3D form. Though technically she hasn't used one strand of yarn but theoretically it could be done (if you had a ball of wool big enough).

Maybe instead of making something to fit the body I could make something that the body had to fit in to?

Concept boards . . .

Wires . . .

Now going back to looking at the first forms of communication methods. . .


When you are little you are taught how to make a communication device - the good old 2 tin and string.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mansellphotos/4901909875/

How does this work?

Sound waves are created as the air vibrates in response to speech or other sounds. The ear collects these sound waves and converts them into nerve impulses which the brain interprets as sound.
When the string is pulled taut and someone speaks into one of the cans, its bottom acts as a diaphragm, converting the sound waves into longitudinal mechanical vibrations which vary the tension of the string. These variations in tension set up waves in the string which travel to the other can, causing its bottom to vibrate in a similar manner as the first can, thus recreating the sound. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_can_telephone)

I decided to have a go myself. I decided to do mine out of transparent cup as I liked the idea that you could perhaps see the sound waves (this obviously didn't work but I liked the idea).

Could this be transmitted in to a garment or a series of garments that all can be heard by the wearer.

How would you put sound in an outfit?