Phi= Beauty

In my last couple of posts, and in responding to some comments, I believe I have a) found my visual language; b) narrowed my focus; and c) renamed my collection.

Phi (the Greek letter above) in mathematics is the Golden Ratio.  Several studies have been done to determine what the majority of us find to be "beautiful" and most conclude that the most "beautiful" subjects' proportions relate to each other by the value of (1.618...).  I am also personally of the opinion that beauty is best achieved when there is proportional balance between elements.  In one response to a comment, I said that I was mainly interested in relating finite concepts (such as math and science), to more abstract and infinite concepts (like beauty and love and humor) and I think that might be the way to do that...


I was first thinking that this may be too far off from my original concept of technology being deeply integrated into society, but after some thought, I liken the idea of defining beauty by way of , as somewhat of an ultra lo-mo proof commenting on the level of integration of technology in society.


I'm thinking of garments cut so that all the bottoms use 1.618 time more fabric than the tops in the collection; or any paneling done is proportioned with ratios...

Gotta re-work my inspiration board...!

beauty =

I found this article to be rather interesting... http://www.toktalk.net/2009/12/15/of-science-math-and-beauty/

Small Request:

Dear Meg Grant,

Please design an interactive "organic circuit diagram" button for my website that is as amazing as yours.

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou,

A.

Intimacy Noir

I came across this blog while looking for inspiration shots for my Organi-Tek collection and needed to post the link.  Check out the fashion photography by Sarah Moon - they feel like a dream that is dangerously close to becoming a nightmare...

Anyways, I found the above image on Kitsch-Noir.  This is the INTIMACY Black dress designed by Anouk Wipprecht in collaboration with studio Roosegaarde, Waddinxveen, of the Netherlands. Made of smart foil, this originally black foil reacts to the proximity of a "viewer," sends a charge through the dress and it becomes more transparent as one approaches.  It's as if the garment is a physical representation of human relationships - as our relationships develop and we become closer to each other, our facade begins to transform into something more transparent; we then have an intimate knowledge of what is beneath the surface. 

I am absolutely fascinated by this technological display of a psychological phenomenon - it is essentially a sentient garment. wow.

Organi-Tek

So, I have been discussing the inspiration for a new collection, trying to suss out the WHY; exploring the fact that technology is so deeply integrated into our culture that I fear there is a need to reconnect with our roots and the roots of technologies that we consider to be so essential to our being that we barely remember a time when we did not have these tools.

By choosing to use technology with a more conscious approach (i.e. considering what research may be like without the internet; trying to connect and conduct business without a cell phone, email, etc.), I feel like the appreciation of these innovations will insight an evolved attitude towards the development of new technologies.  By remembering the roots and essentially, how technology has become so prevalent in society that we no longer question where it came from, we just know we need it to function at the level that we do, I hope we will work together as an evolving society to develop new technologies, rather than competing to do this.  I would like to call on the population to start generating ideas not as a product of ego, but rather as a means to further our society as a whole.

I have called the collection Organi-Tek to allude to the fact that technology is so deeply integrated into our daily lives that it has become part of us - I feel naked when I've forgotten my cell phone at home; I feel like I am unable to connect with the world outside of my apartment when my internet is down; I can't even begin to imagine living without a computer...  But I have also called it this to get us thinking further about treating the development of technology as an organic quality that aids in the progression of a society through the belief that it is like an organ in the societal body - without it, society would perish and thus, it is in our best interest to further its prosperity void of material gain attached to its development as this would threaten the equilibrium of the societal body.

When redesigning my collection for Laura Petites, I was inspired by the process of smelting.  The image of white hot metal, changing colour to fiery reds and golds as it's poured into a mold, sparks flying everywhere, is what I wanted to incorporate into my collection.

After doing a little research, identifying trends for Fall/Winter 2010/11 that my target market may be interested in adopting this season, I chose the following colours from Pantone's Fall Color Report 2010:

According to Million Looks.com (http://www.millionlooks.com/trends/outfits-trends/fashion-trends-fall-winter-2010-2011/), a few trends for Fall/Winter 2010/11 are high collars, quilting, and wide legged pants.  I chose these trends in particular for my collection because I feel my target market would be comfortable wearing them; especially the quilting since it's evocative of Chanel, which Laura Petites customers aspire to own (as told to me by the Pacific Centre store's manager on October 11, 2010).

As for finding evidence that this inspiration may actually be present in street fashion today, I ran into some difficulty.  I certainly saw many women in my target market wearing quilted coats and wide legged pants, but since the weather took a turn and it's been downright CHILLY, all I could really see were the coats and pants!

I found a website that is kind of a lifestyle/fashion blog for women 50+ that named metallics as a major fashion trend to follow for the Fall/Winter 2010/11 season, plus, when speaking to the Pacific Centre store's manager, she mentioned that metallics sold well during the holiday season, and the majority of their accessories in store were made of metals and chains, so I'm fairly confident that I've chosen an appropriate inspiration for my target market.

I've kept the tailoring fairly soft instead of my usual design aestetic of angular, hard tailoring, but it is still alluded to in the sharp pleats, french cuffs, funnel neck and pointed blazer hem.  I anchored metallic pieces with a neutral piece (metallic shirt and matte wool pants...) to avoid over-saturating the look with the inspiration and appearing to trendy for my target market.

Assignment 2: Laura Petites

Laura Petites - Pacific Centre

Profile: 

•  Laura petites is proportionally designed to fit a woman 5'4" and under who are sizes 2-14
• The Laura Petites woman is between 45 - 60 years old and has a career in middle management or as a executive assistant in Vancouver's downtow core
• She is concerned with appearing professional as well as stylish in order to maintain an approachable, yet mature/established role in the workplace
• Her children are grown and no longer live at home; however, she appreciates their attendance at the occasional Sunday dinner
• Her wardrobe for work is comprised of blazers and matching trousers or skirts, which are of a classic cut but have been updated with a modern textile, colour or applique detail
• She would love to own a Chanel suit
• She is going through, or has already gone through menopause and is experiencing change in her silhouette; thus, she is looking for clothing that is softly tailored, that creates the illusion of a waist with detailing or belting at the waisline, and have a longer sleeve (preferably 3/4 or full length)
• Tends to adopt fashion trends closer to the end of the specific style's life cycle (would be an adopter at the end of the peak or along the trend's decline)
• She knows what "season" she is (i.e. an Autumn is best suited to wear colours of burnt oranges, reds, browns, mossy greens...) and her clothing is purchased in accordance with this
• She wears limited accessories, usually showcasing one statement piece at a time (statement necklace paired with understated earrings, never statement necklace and statement earrings together)
• Her weekend jeans are bootcut, in a solid wash and ironed
• Buys petite because she believes that buying clothing that has been sized for her body type will communicate to others that she is a woman who takes pride in her appearance and paying attention to the details