Kingston University Department of Foundation Studies 2012/13 Unit 3 Exploratory Stage: Media Development, Preparation & Progression Brief:

10am Wednesday 14th November 2012 Crit: 1.30pm Tuesday 20th November 2012

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

SILHOUETTE & FORM

RATIONALE This week-long project is designed to enhance your approach and understanding of silhouette and form in fashion and increase your awareness of 3D structure around a body. This brief is exciting if you create work rapidly and intuitively: you will be using ONLY PAPER to enhance the speed, making and structure of your ideas in three dimensions, you should be exploring, distorting and exaggerating volume on the body. This project is integral to investigating the structural properties of paper in relation to the human form. Do not be controlled by the contours of the mannequin, move away from it and invent something unrecognisable and personal. Your starting point may come from any personal interest, but remember, you are primarily looking at SHAPE for inspiration! The brief should encourage you to consider the process of designing a garment, use of materials and the importance of thorough and personal research and interpretation. Your final piece should reflect your thought processes and initial research, resulting in a convincing and potentially wearable outcome! As a starting point, and to get an idea of how inventive we expect you to be, we would like all students to watch this film on Vimeo about Ron Resch and his experiments with origami tessellations: http://vimeo.com/36122966 AIMS & OBJECTIVES UNDERSTANDING MATERIALS: To understand and exploit the potential and limitations of selected media and materials in your work EXPERIMENTATION: To combine and manipulate media, techniques and technology to achieve technically competent outcomes REFLECTION: To analyze and evaluate the conceptual, technical and aesthetic qualities of developmental work PRESENTATION: To select, organize and prepare work for presentation using appropriate techniques and sequencing BRIEF Source masses of exciting visual research on a topic that you find particularly interesting focusing on SHAPE and develop this into ideas for paper garment/s and structures around a body that challenge conventional silhouette. It is important to select an area of research that is not already fashion derivative, for example: Psychology, Science, Origami, Decay, Machinery, Paper Aeroplanes, Sculpture, Geology, Envelopes, Protection, Furniture . . . . . . .

DAY 1/2: RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTATION Spend the first day gathering visual research and references, collecting ideas to develop your concept. Source the papers you wish to work with, sketch out some initial ideas and think hard before you start making. Put together A2 research sheets and a wealth of further information for sketchbooks. You may source any sort of paper surfaces to include in your garment. Printed papers, graph paper, lining paper, tracing paper, brown paper, tissue paper and newspaper will all behave differently when placed on the body. (Work with weights and texture but not surface, colour or pattern.) Explore each type of paper. Identify its properties and how you can manipulate it fold, pleat, weave, stitch, knit, crumple, rip, curve, twist, cut-out, loop, roll, bend, multiply, plait... you could make it appear very hard or quite soft. Analyse your research and identify key features, construction techniques, and ideas for manipulation. Using your experiments and observations you will work on a mannequin/fellow student and create a unique and personal interpretation in paper. Consider construction techniques stitch, glue, tape, tabs, staples, rivets, ties, eyelets. The construction should become an interesting feature of your garment. Consider what a garment is, how it interacts with and changes the body wearing it. Think imaginatively and push the boundaries of your discipline DAY 3/4: DESIGN DEVELOPMENT Produce a minimum of four A2 development boards, which document your experimentations, sketches and final outcome. Consider the media you use. Develop your use of drawing media, which should always be appropriate to the subject. Use your papers and some photography from all angles to help collage and illustrate your developing ideas. Finishing your final garment. DAY 5: PRESENTATION Produce a series of observational drawings of your paper garment on A2 sheets. Explore a range of media and materials. For example you can mix collage with drawing media. Use a mix of line, collage and blind drawing. Photograph your final garment/s. If it can be worn you may wish to style your shoot. If not, then document it on the mannequin against a plain wall. Remember to take close up photos of interesting details RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS: Sketchbook, papers, range of drawing materials, camera, sewing materials, fastening options, books, magazines, internet, library EXPECTED OUTCOMES: Sketchbook (no smaller than A4) A2 research sheets A2 development sheets A series of A2 observational drawings Final garment/s Final photography sheet A mass of experimental and supplementary work in sketchbooks and on sheets