f(form) | 2015

Honours Project

Is it possible to express garment designs as algorithms? And how can we use algorithmic methods to inform the future of fashion design?

Throughout fashion school, my biggest obsession was pattern drafting - the traditional craft of making 2d pattern pieces that can be cut and sewn from fabric to make 3d garment forms.

I was inspired by the adoption of parametric design in architecture and digital art.

I proposed two applications for this technology:

Custom-fit garments (input the wearer's measurements, output the pattern pieces ready to cut and sew)
Generative print designs (infinite unqiue designs born from a single set of stylistic rules)

In the spirit of research-by-design, I taught myself enough coding to write a program that could parametrically generate custom-fit pattern pieces.

I made these dresses for a bunch of my friends who were all different shapes and sizes. We all had 3D body scans done, and then ran the measurements through my custom program to produce custom-fit pattern pieces, which I then sewed up and we had a fashion shoot. Lots of trial and error, but agreat proof of concept for customised dressmaking at scale.

I also made a collection of runway looks to play with my generative schemas across more complex garment structures (pleats, pockets, buttons, accessories).

What I learnt:

Generative design methods can be a powerful way to create personalised
I love coding! After this project I enrolled in a Master of IT

Recognition:

Awarded 'Most Outstanding Thesis' among my graduating cohort.
Awarded First Class Honours
Exhibited in group show 'Make/Wear' at First Site Gallery, Nov 2015.
Exhibited in MSFW X RMIT Graduate Exhibition
Featured in Yen magazine

Photography by Sebastian Petrovski. Hair and Make Up by Taryn and Joel Gionis Modelled by Riaz Vickers (Pride) and my friends: Bonnie, Sara, Jacinta, Iris, Renee and Anna.