I would love to get my hands on this

Samples of work by Karen Marie Hasling, B.Sc.Eng Textile technology, M.Sc.Eng Design&Innovation. Preliminary results of the project ‘Green’ bio composites for ceiling and wall elements. Presented as part of a seminar on design potentials in polyester with the Digital Crafting Network.

living legend

BoF Fashion Pioneers Nick Knight in conversation with Imran Amed from The Business of Fashion on Vimeo.

super lego

Postler Fergusson Microclimates: sustainable structural patterning

"Traditional Islamic architecture dealt sustainably with the harsh desert climate by careful control of light and airflow through elements such as the masharabiya, wind towers, and earthen walls. Using custom software, Microclimates is based on a three-dimensional interpretation of the masharabiya built from local clay with a complex internal structure whose large internal surface area efficiently conditions air passing through it by evaporative cooling.

Combining the principals behind these ancient building elements with the most advanced computer-aided manufacturing techniques, Microclimates is not just an installation, but a building language that can be reused again and again to create new public spaces."

Cooling system:Close-up rendering:

I like the way functionality is combined with patterning aesthetics and the ability to adapt each structure here, even though it does look a bit like real-life lego!

lessons from bernard rudofsky, circa 1944

looking into ergonomics and fundamentals of shoe shape and function I disovered this chap: photograph to show how modern shoes do not match the shape of the human foot.

From left to right: Plaster cast of an adult's deformed foot which has taken on the shape of a shoe; wooden last; present-day shoe; plaster model of an imaginary symmetrical foot which corresponds to the shoe manufacturer's idea of human anatomy." via Getty

barefoot forward?

"Barefoot Running promotes Front and Mid -strike which allows the runner to take more advantage of elastic energy stored in both the Achilles tendon and the longitudinal arch of the foot. This develops more calf and foot muscle strength, and avoids uncomfortable and potentially injurous impact."
William Jungers. Barefoot Running strikes back. Nature Journal. January 2010 via Terra Plana

Yet again I find myself looking to innovative Terra Plana products (previously the designed for dissasembly "pop" shoe) and now the vivobarefoot range and research which I find really fascinating. The idea that performance running shoes and cushioning could potentially be making it worse for us to run is both scary and revolutionary and I've been trying to find out more about the research behind it.

"Vivobarefoot is a revolutionary, back-to-basics design based on the simple principle that being barefoot is the healthiest way for you and your feet to be. An ultra thin puncture resistant sole allows your feet to be as millions of years of evolutionary design intended - Barefoot."

Whilst being barefoot millions of years ago was as nature intends it, I'm sure there are various arguments against now - for one given the man-made often tarmacked environments we've created for ourselves - but it's interesting to see the professor in this video running barefoot in city streets. One thing's for sure given all of my foot and back problems, I'm really tempted to have a go!

body laboratory

Last friday I attended the Kingston MA Fashion Futures show "Body Laboratory", a new course led by Nancy Tilbury who has worked with a number of companies including Philips on research-led design work fusing fashion and technology to explore new product concepts. Unfortunately I missed the static exhibition there so have been trying to find out more about the students display of work and stumbled on this video detailing digital draping and print manipulation. I've always been partial to a good print, especially one engineered for a specific product (as Jonathan Saunders first collections did or McQueen has done fantastically in recent years) and had never thought about using projection to do so, but what a great idea. It's also exciting to see a fashion course happening in a university with such a diversity of fields - from architecture to product design and engineering and I'm sure there will be exciting things to come from this course in the future.

Jonathan Saunders SS05

Alexander Mcqueen SS10

bodyworks

Researching for a new project I'm doing I discovered the work of Marilene Oliver, an artist and researcher exploring the relationship between the newly developing digital environment and representation of the body:

"The virtual world created by the computer is one that provides no place for the physical body. As communications technology and the use of the Internet is becoming an integral part of our lives, the absence of the physical in the virtual space is destined to provoke changes in the physical body and in our relationship to it in the real world. My work centres around this relationship, seeking to explore and create ways of intimately representing the physical body."

Although the underlying motivations for the work are quite conceptual and really interesting, the physical pieces she produces use technology to produce really beautiful installation type displays, all focussing around depictions of the human form, and often using MRI scanning to produce sculptures which appear in slices. I really like this idea of collections of different things, or slices which on their own would mean nothing, but when pieced together create an interesting image or creation. I also think it would be really interesting to see how products could be developed around some of the ideas and technology here.

electrifying

If I had all the money in the world, and happened to be developing a second season helen furber collection heel..(which sadly I am not..quite yet anyway) I have just found exactly what I would do. This.is.amazing.

You can "trap lightening" in plastic..aka a "Lichtenberg figure" and which are actually sold on the website "capturedlightening.com". IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES!! imagine the heels - ooft.

via notcot.org/popsci.com

China digital boom

Fascinating report on Chinese Market growth & digital marketing at a luxury level, via Business of Fashion

China: The Biggest Opportunity for Prestige & Luxury Brands in a Generation from L2 Think Tank on Vimeo.

BOF talks sustainability

Just mulling over Business of Fashion's article "In Ethical Fashion, Desirability is Sustainability" (and linked article Sustainable fashion: what does green mean? on FT.com).

"Indeed, the brands that will resonate most with increasingly aware, but ever-demanding consumers will be the ones who integrate sustainable principles into their operations without making “being green” their defining principle."

I definately feel that the fact that it's so hard to even define what "sustainable principles" are demonstrates the scale of the problem and the need for an industry wide standard. But also believe the true ideal would be to look at this from a more "cradle-to-cradle" perspective where "being green" - or taking responsibility for your environmental impact? - should be an equally defining principle to whatever your design aesthetic/ethos is, not secondary, and both complement each other.

I also think whilst it's really great that PPR have supported HOME (a film-based "environmental call to arms") it could be viewed a little as "green marketing". Most people now understand that we need to do something about our environmental impact (but perhaps don't know how to apply it on a day to day basis) and there is already a lot of info/material out there about the theory. I feel it might be a stronger message to also demonstrate support via visible changes to business and product strategy which have a tangible outcome to the consumer.



Of course some change is better than no change and I think Florien Gonzalez's comments are interesting and positive:

"For years, I have been saying to brands that improving their sustainability credentials does not require to tag the brand as “eco”, “green” or “ethical”. Humility and hard work are necessary to make current luxury/fashion business models and supply chains more sustainable. It is very easy to fall into greenwashing when one company presents itself as “eco” just because they have one “eco-collection” or a CSR director… We should serve sustainability more than sustainability serves us, and act more than we speak… As for the sustainable luxury definition, it is not as difficult as one would think, it requires to have a positive impact on people, planet and… profits. The implementation of this 3p definition is obviously complex and long term.."

Updates

So for the past week, in between moving flats and trying to finish my lookbook I've been to a couple of events organised through the university for us students on the first move programme. The first was an evening with industry, chaired by Kubi Springer of Sisterhood TV, and with a panel including Rebekah Roy (Stylist), James Watson (Head of MW at Liberty), James Barron (Head of Buying at ASOS) and Veronica Veronina (Fashion PR). It was a great insight into the various roles of each individual and involved a Q&A session and then chance to network after. Speaking to Rebekah Roy was fantastic as I had been wanting advice on how to handle the various stylist requests I'm now recieving to borrow my footwear samples. She gave me the confidence that I can actually trust in at least some stylists when lending my samples, but it's also become hugely clear I need to try find funding to make my shoes in size 7 pairs so I can lend them for press (rather than the size 4 for university regulations).

I also went to the Browns exhibition celebrating 40years for Browns Fashion, and we were given a guided tour by senior buyer Francoise, who was very funny and brought a very personal commentary to the photographs and pieces on show. It was really interesting to hear the history from someone who has been with the company for over 30years and who obviously knows the fashion design landscape incredibly well.

Plastic (super duper) fantastic

Yesterday I attended the British Plastic Federation (BPF)'s annual seminar The Future of Bio-based and Degradeable Plastics: Markets and Applications. It was a really good insight into bioplastics as an industry and some of the challenges that we face on the whole in regard to waste management, products and "green/sustainability" in relation to plastics. There were some fascinating presentations on everything from landfill site management to using bio plastics to grow bone (amazing!) and even a bit of an uncomfortable debate over "Oxo-Degradable" plastics..I left with a lot to think about and some mixed feelings:

• Firstly that I really need some experience of how plastics are manufactured and which plastics are really used in shoe manufacture today.
• Secondly that bio plastics have their own hugely complicated problems and are maybe not the golden solution for product designers - e.g. bio plastics in waste streams could be a massive issue when products are sent for recycling (as they can't be recycled with petro-plastic) but how does the waste collector know the difference?
• Also that Carbon and Water footprints are going to be increasingly important and I need to learn more.
• Finally that there is sooo much out there to learn about, and ways bioplastics can and will be used it really is fascinating.

It was also great to meet some of the industry noggins and other interesting people (including a sustainable packaging designer and army chemist!) who were there and I came away distinctly glad I went, even if I didn't understand all of the polymer science.

POP

animation station

So have been madly trying to cast my wedges over the past week as well as try and pull together all of the presentation material. Today has been really exciting as I worked with the LCF digital studio and created an animation of my shoe construction from the CAD models. I can't believe how fast it was done and looks great! Just needs to finish rendering and then title sequence will be added in. In the meantime I was doing lots of animation/technical video research and have decided dyson is a really great example of how video is used to explain product innovation to consumers. So much information is packed into 21seconds of film..I'm convinced.

print in glass??

Just discovered the website shapeways which lets anyone create their own 3D model and even set up an online shop to sell their models...also has materials for 3D printing I didn't realise were possible..such as glass! Exciting times..

interactive video

Just reading another article on business of fashion about technology allowing video to become interactive which is so exciting. Quynh Mai, founder of moving content and image NY:

“On every printed page of a magazine, there is always a credit telling the consumer what the subject in the image is wearing, and sometimes how much [it costs] and where to buy it. Dazed did the same thing, but the content was video and the medium was online,” explained Mai.

“Pokeware helps shrink the distance between desire and consumption down to one click,” she said. Indeed, the technology has the potential to transform glossy short films and videos into highly engaging virtual storefronts."

Hoping I still have time to make both a technical animation and brand/concept video of my products...which could then be the face of my online retail proposal. wikihow to make a fashion video...

reduced paw print

Just doing some more research into packaging and came across the Puma Fuse packaging promo video on business of fashion. Nice video which commicates what they've done really well and maintains a strong brand identity. Packaging also looks pretty cool. Not sure how many people would reuse the bag though. But inspirational anyhow!

ka-ching

Interesting to see how the fashion industry is reacting to digitisation where in my internship experience a lot of smaller brands in particular are still very old-school in the way they are managed back of house. Having seen this post on Business of Fashion it makes perfect sense for people to be capitalising on the opportunities for targeting small businesses which are popping up every season. World on a Hanger is one system offering a more 21st century production management system which brands can join easily and pay for on a monthly basis. Will be interesting to see how things like this may change the industry in the future, and perhaps give smaller brands the tools they need to survive globally as smaller brands.

World on a Hanger from Tom Riley on Vimeo.

plastic (notso) fantastic

Just discovered the website rise above plastics and was impressed with their to the point promo video. I remember the first time I saw a programme about the huge areas of ocean just covered in plastics which have been dumped and being utterly shocked. This reminded me instantly of that and I do feel a bit sick watching it, but all the more determined that something has to be done about plastics use in products (and their afterlife).

ecopack

I've been trying to decide about the packaging for my products for some time and always find it interesting to see examples where people think outside of the box (haha..) and which take into account sustainability. Interesting to see this student project posted on core77 which redesigns the coke bottle. Smart suggestions for improvement especially with the shipping and recycling side of things, and I kinda like it. Although the pammy is pretty iconic, I think it's great people are starting to rethink product packaging for really mass-consumed items like coke.