Formed Inflatables in Fashion -- Project Proposal

Intention

The goal of this project is multi stepped. First would be to explore how elastic inflatables can be integrated into modular forms that can shape there inflation. Secondly would be to explore how these modular forms can be integrated into garments in a cohesive way.

The goal of this project is partially to play and experiment with the integration of hard, soft and inflatable materials, but the hope would be that the use of these integrated materials could allow for the creation of outfits which move in organic ways.

Process and/or Research

There are many Fashion designers who have worked with inflatables, and there are many examples of hard materials integrated into textile. With regard to the inflatables, I looked to the works of Hussein Chalayan, who uses technology and inflatables to add a dynamic quality to his designs. Additionally I was intrigued by the work of Lining Yao, specifically her “Second Skin” project — garments which applied her research in the bioLogic project. I was delighted by the way the moving flaps were integrated into the outfit lining designed — some of my proposed forms conform to her designs.

Lining Yao bioLogic Exhibition:

http://tangible.media.mit.edu/project/biologic-media-lab-exhibition/

Additionally I drew from some of my own past work for this project, having integrated inflatables into the layers of a laser cut forms.

Link to past project exploring inflatables integrated into acrylic layers:

http://ideate.xsead.cmu.edu/gallery/projects/the-breathing-blobs

Research Proposal

My hope is to integrate elastic inflatables between laser cut acrylic layers in order to form the inflation of the balloon form. The end goal is to create panels that could be embedded into garments, tapestry, or other textile forms. When embedded into textile the balloons would be inflated with CO2 cartridges, which would be controlled by a micro-controller connected to the solenoid valves on the cartridges. Tubing would run within or behind the textile to connect the CO2 cartridges with the panels.

Sample Book

For this class we created a set of samples including: a functional length of el. wire, muscle wire integrated into a piece of fabric, and a set of LEDs controlled by a micro-controller reading from capacitive touch sensor.