13.02 Your way, My way, Runway Project Assignment

Assignment Deliverables

Design and fabricate a single item, multiple articles or a complete look for the annual spring runway show

Assignment Overview

Link to Fashion Slide Show

As visual artists and designers, presentation of your work to the public is important. Audience reception both good and bad helps inform your practice and guides improvement. Having a defined presentation date and venue can serve as a catalyst and an incentive for creative activity. We will use the annual spring Runway Show as the motivation and inspiration for the final project.

Although this event occurs after the conclusion of the course, you are highly encouraged to submit your work to the spring Runway Show hosted by students in Craft + Design. Think about ways for your work to “stand out” at the event. You have an advantage since you are familiar with the location, in this case the CIA Atrium. Will you use scale? Texture? Color? Electronics? LEDs? Sound? Movement? Light?

Instead of pondering only clothing, think about human sculpture, form and performance. We can buy clothes at the store, even highly designed clothing. As artists do not limit your ideas and concepts to the small domain of “clothing”. Expand it to the entire range of human scaled objects, experiences, forms and sensations

Requirements

• Create a single item, or multiple articles, or a completely designed look or a performance piece for the human figure using the various sewing, pattern making and fabrication skills learned in class.
• Expand beyond simple forms into experimental and exciting designs and constructions.
• Explore fabric as a means to create volumetric forms on and around the body.
• Submit your design to the Runway Show in the spring. (Encouraged but not required)
• Redefine some aspect of the covering and embellishment of the human form.

Recommendations

You may use the basic pattern guides for t-shirts and pants that we made in class to make blank templates. This project can use investigations and forms from the Megapholster project.

• Consider using sculptural fabric forms as extensions of the human figure or to play with proportions.
• Think about adding more complex and challenging details such as linings and structural interfacing.
• Battery powered lights, electronics, and sounds can elevate a piece to new realms of possibilities.
• Kinetic or movable portions of the object offer the ability for surprise in a performative environment.

Process

1. Sketching, sketching, sketching – whether analog or digital you should begin with sketching.
2. Research fashion artists and forms. Look at the recent fashion history show up at the MetLinks to an external site.. Google some of those designers and collect images.
3. Link to fashion slide show
4. Make a folder of labeled jpgs of inspiration from art and fashion. All the images do not have to be fashion related, maybe a picture of a gold fish is just what the artist doctor ordered. These images are for you and you do not need to turn them in. You should gather reference and inspiration images to use while working on the project.
5. Experimentation with forms and silhouettes is encouraged during the sketching and initial pattern phase.
6. Refer to your sketches and your research for inspiration.
7. Use your shirt and pants patterns as needed to make a new pattern.
8. Modify the size and form to match your intended design.
9. Butcher Paper! - make models of forms and shapes quickly with butcher paper. It only takes 15 - 20 minutes and cheap materials to test an idea. Test multiple ideas.
10. Test sew using scrap material any experimental parts of your design before using final fabric.
11. Once satisfied with your pattern, begin construction of your designs.

Due

Initial ideations sketches are due next class. One of the most important skills you can develop is idea generation. Even more important is the ability to develop and refine initial ideas.

1. Sketch lots of different ideas.
2. Then refine and improve the ideas. (This step is essential) We will review your refined sketches the following week. At that point you should be well into gathering materials and test sewing. You may have already begun final fabrication of forms.

Everyone should begin drafting pattern pieces. You should also gather materials to begin sewing in class. We will split class time between peer review and fabrication time. If you are unsure of what materials you want to use, you should be prepared to use scrap fabric in the studio to mock up your look.

The final project is due on the final critique day.

Grading Rubric