Hi, I'm presenting shape changing
fabric samples for interactive
fashion design.
I'm Audrey Girouard, a faculty
member at Carleton University.
This work was mainly completed
by Daniela Vahid for her master's
thesis, with the
collaboration of Lee Jones and Lois
Frankel.
As
technologies integrated into all
aspects of our lives.
Researchers are exploring emerging
technologies in the field of fashion
design.
The substantial growth in the field
of functional apparel design
encourages researchers and fashion
designers to incorporate technology
within their design.
In much of the previous work,
e-textiles have required
interdisciplinary knowledge,
such as electrical engineering and
computer science to be successful.
We proposed simplifying the process
with ready to use interactive
garment samples that could minimize
the need for technical assistance in
the design of changing clothing.
Previous work has explored how
fashion designers would like to use
color changing samples, but
shape changing samples are an
underexploited area.
In this work, we focus on inflatable
shape changing fabric samples with
kinetic properties.
We ask, how can inflatable fabric
samples help designers explore
potential application of shape
changing technology?
We created three origami
shape changing samples and
introduce them to seven fashion
designers.
We then conducted design sessions
and interviews to see how
they would use this fabric
samples.
So to make the shape changing fabric
samples,
mainly to set the origami folds
of the fabric, we drew
the origami pattern onto fusable web
material and cutting in into pieces.
We ironed those pieces to the back
of the fabric, then sandwiched the
fabric between plastic origami
sheets and secured the folds
with wood clips. The
fabrics set for two or three days.
And then when we open the clip, the
fabric held the plant shape.
Each sample had a simple on off
switch to avoid the need for
programing knowledge.
The switch circuit included a small
handheld air compressor, a balloon
and tube to blow the air under the
fabric to make the unfolding
kinetic motion possible.
Using this method, we made three
different samples for ideation
sessions with fashion designers.
We design three shape changing
fabric prototypes based on origami
art patterns that change their shape
as they unfold in full.
We selected origami patterns because
they have a demonstrated efficacy
structure for changing movements
to folding and unfolding
with fashionable esthetic qualities,
we applied three types of
tessellation the eight crease
water-bomb, the six police water
bomb and the pyramid.
You can see them inflating and
deflating on
this slide.
For our study, we worked with seven
fashion or textile designers that
all had various fashion
experience, some
over 30 years and some more
around five years of experience,
sometimes in fabric design
sometimes and custom made dresses,
sewing and tailoring, or sketching
garments. We video
recorded ideation sessions
where we presented the sample and
asked them to create a garment or
something else with them.
And then we did thematic analysis of
the results.
Here you see, one of those video recording
sessions or at least a small clip of
it, and
what's interesting for you to notice
is that as
this participant explains
what she would do with the fashion
samples, she touches them,
she plays with them, she explores
their sizes, she explores
how they might change and
verbally explains
what she would do with
this fabric sample.
So I'm going to point out three
specific findings.
The importance of tangible
exploration. The
need for samples to feel
like fabric.
The importance of scale and fashion
designer.
So if we think about the
importance of tangible exploration,
this is specifically
of designers who work with their
hands, with various
textiles and textiles,
feels differently, drapes
differently, has a different weight,
and can afford to
create various shapes on the body.
And so, the fabric
samples, you really
need to be
interested to touch that, and that's
exactly how they worked
with them.
Participants tangibly explore the
features and affordance of the
swatches, whether they could fold
on their own or whether they
would create rounded shapes.
They touched them and
felt their
various qualities.
Which leads to another
finding, which is the
need for the sample to feel like
fabric.
They wanted the fabric
samples to be soft
and they wanted to
be able to modify the fabric samples
because that's the general type of
fabric samples that they work with
before they buy meters and meters
of a specific textile.
They get a small sample.
And that they can cut and they can
tape and they can.
Play around with
so the spin on the left
is kind of explaining how she wanted
to stitch around the fabric and cut
it as a corset while the one
on the right expected the
across a lot of fabric to change
the length.
So the fabric sample that they were
provided was exactly what
they wanted in terms of
size.
And that's normal.
The importance, scale and fashion
design is also something quite
important to take into account,
using a mini mannequin provided a
framework for participants to use
different scenarios while
prototyping in particular
to help them to imagine large scale
interventions skirts
even with a small sample.
But it also limited the type of
interactions due to the scale of the
model.
So having mannequins and samples of
different skills could help to
better support the process and
embodied practices our participants
were trying to explore.
For example, placing a swatch
on their own body to explore
a design concept, and you'll see
that in the next example.
So the shape changing
samples Explorer inspired quite
a few designs.
So many participants made a skirt
with the six crease waterbomb shape,
changing the fabric that's on the
left because
the fabric was
really the sample was really easy
to fold or at least put around
an object.
In this case, the mannequins, like
the participant on the right,
created a pregnant
lady using the Paravant fabric,
which due to the and sense of
what the shape change produced.
Back to our earlier
video, a sample of our participants
here, she places
the fabric sample on her shoulder
to see how we would do, and
he was explaining how she would make
a really strong shoulder, a little
bit like a female
gladiator.
And then she goes on to explain and
mimic that she wasn't she wouldn't
use it here, she wouldn't use
it on the stomach because it does
not enable
fashionable it's not an area
that it wants to be
enhanced by current fashion
standards.
So this preliminary case study
explores how cheap changing
inflatable fabric samples can help
fashion designers explore for
audiences and opportunities for
designing with.
Shape changing samples without
engineering or computer systems,
we explore this research gaps
through a preliminary user case
study with seven experienced
designers.
We created three origami
patterns that fold and unfold and
observe designers interacting
with the samples in a design
session.
We found that designers demonstrated
with various approaches to the
potential of the fabric samples to
help them envision vision,
shape-changing clothing
and furniture design concepts.
Our results suggest addressing
these design principles,
perspectives and developing
shape-changing fabric samples that
could assist fashion designers
with little to no experience with
electronics.
We propose that samples of
changing fabric similar to a
prototype could be a potential
solution to help designers
incorporate, integrate
technology into their current
practices
without the need for external help.
Specifically, future work should
include the creation of shape
changing fabric sample
kit, which provides larger and
more varied patterns for interactive
sample materials with
soft samples that feel like fabric.
And that can be modified as part of
working with the samples.
We hope that the tangible
exploration of shape-changing
swatches provides several
insights that could lead to
recommendations for other
researchers working on interacting
fashion toolkits.
Thank you and I'm happy to take your
questions.