The Fashion Landscape – Presentation
Presentation notes
The Fashion Landscape and Academic Teaching.
Slide 1 & 2 – Opening page & Overview
For this presentation, I’ll be reflecting on the current fashion climate and paying particular attention to the digital and textile innovations which are currently accelerating change in the Industry. I’ll also explore how the fashion industry and academic institutions have adapted to meet the requirements, and I’ll end by recommending ways in which fashion Institutions should be preparing for the future.
Slide 3 – The Fashion Landscape
I want to start by looking at two key factors that are accelerating changes in the fashion industry.
Firstly there’s no escaping the effects the Global Pandemic has had on the Industry, causing academics, manufacturers, suppliers and brands to re-evaluate their practice and take steps to adapt
With the ever increasing awareness from consumers on environmental and human right issues, and Government objectives, and Global goals to be met; one of the biggest challenges the industry faces is a need to be more sustainable, not only through it’s use of fabrics but also in it’s choices on the conditions in which their textiles and garments are being produced.
Slide 4 – Global Pandemic
Taking a closer look at the effects the pandemic has had on the Industry we see the chaos it’s created with direct effects on local & global supply chains; we saw production and sampling put on hold and store closures, which in turn lead to drops in sales. And we start to see the collapse of well established Fashion Brands.
It was reported that more than half the Worlds population reached out on social media. And the winning brands were those that took steps to change their marketing strategies, by Increasing digital advertising and using engaging ways of reaching their consumers via social media platforms.
Slide 5 – Sustainability
As I move on to sustainability we can see the effects on businesses. With Governments around the World setting guidance and introducing climate change legalisations. And a reported 60% of consumers now consider the environmental impact a critical factor in their purchasing decisions, Businesses can no longer avoid the need for sustainable practice.
To help tackle sustainable issues we are seeing organisations specifically set up to help businesses; with one example being Wrap. Working with Governments, Wrap has put together The Sustainable Clothing Action Plan 2020 and the Textile 2030 agreement, and has already helped retailers tackle their carbon, waste and water footprints.
Another organisation helping to raise awareness on transparency and human right issues is Fashion Revolution, who are pushing major brands to be more transparent, and encouraging them to disclose more information about their policies, practices and supply chain.
The transparency of a garments life cycle and supply chain management is in growing demand, and we are starting to see an increase use of blockchain technology to record this detailed data.
Slide 6 – Digital Innovations
As I move onto Digital innovations, I’m drawn to explore this in more depth, due to its increased use during the pandemic and its potential to reduce waste.
We are seeing an increase in uptake from brands such as PUMA, Mango and Adidas.
During New York & London Fashion Week we start to see 3D Digital fashion shows along side fully digitises programmes.
Technological advancements like augmented & virtual reality, are being increasingly applied in the fashion industry. As seen in these example from Gucci and Zara.
We are also starting to see an emergence of virtual digital clothing being used on social media.
And we’re also witnessing a change in fashion models with a move to digital, this virtual Model Shudu has featured in Vogue and fronted campaigns for Balmain.
Slide 7 – Digital Innovations (3D Fashion Specific Software)
Moving onto the next slide I’ll take a quick look at 3D Software.
When physical work couldn’t be maintained during the pandemic, many businesses turned to 3D software. And the industry is now starting to realise the benefits.
Aiming to help reduce the cycle time in the early stages of design development, it can allow for an increase in the development period and the potential to dramatically reduce the need for physical sample garments. With the creation of a photo realistic images, if businesses can understand seeing a visual 3D rendered and animated sample over a physical sample, then the reduction on waste can be beneficial to the environment.
Slide 8 – Textile Innovations
Moving onto Textile Innovations I’m really encouraged to see Brands and Manufacturers working together to help tackle some of the environmental problems the Industry has created. There’s an increase in research and innovation helping to convert circular waste into new fibres. Econyl and Circulose are just two new fibres to emerge, and they are currently being introduced into the luxury and main stream markets with Companies like the H&M Group switching some of their Cotton to Circulose Fibres and Burberry have recently introduction Econyl to a capsule collection, as a substitute for Nylon.
H&M have also set up a machine which they’ve called Loop in their flagship store in Stockholm; and are encouraging customers to bring in their old knitwear to be transformed into fresh new garments. It works by separating fibres and transforms extracted cotton into a cellulose powder, which is then spun into a new yarn and the new garment knitted. I for one am hoping it’s successful and they’ll starting introducing these machines into UK stores.
Theres also an increased awareness over growing textiles such as cotton and the damage they are having on the environment and soil fertility. Only 1% of the whole cotton industry is grown organically so there’s an increased demand to educate farmers on switching to ORGANIC COTTON farming models.
We are also starting to see fabric manufacturers committing to traceability and transparency with the Austrian Company Lenzing currently using blockchain technology to record the whole processes throughout the supply chain.
Slide 9 – How the Industry is adapting
Moving onto the next slide we can see the industry has explored innovative ways of running their businesses and sought new ways off engaging with their audience.
London Fashion Week’s and Premiere Vision’s hybrid of physical and digital experiences proves the industry’s resilience, creativity, and innovation in difficult times.
One thing that is evident in the rise of the pandemic, is that businesses who had already invested in Digital solutions were ahead of the game, allowing them to further development their digital responses and maintain some of the development practices. With the additional use of AR and VR technologies they’ve been able to develop exciting ways of connecting with their audience.
And to help target sustainable issues we are starting to see the implementation of fibre switching and circular business models being introduced as brands start to make commitments to change.
Slide 10 – How Academic Institutions are adapting
Moving onto the next slide we can see that Academic institutions also sought digital solutions to help solve the immediate problem they faced with the switch to online learning and the absence of degree shows. We saw London college of the arts creating a digital takeover to showcase students works and Ravensbourne University taking digital one step further in collaborating Fashion and Gaming students in their creation of ‘Rave Digital’.
And we start to see the introduction of new fashion course with specific focus on digital within fashion.
Collaborative engagement is being encouraged across all institutions with centres being created to help encourage this behaviour.
Universities are actively supporting students and the Industry to understand sustainable issues and are actively working on research projects within textiles and circular design models, they’re also engaged in funding programmes to encourage collaborations within the industry.
Slide 11 – Recommendations for Fashion Institutions
Moving to the final slide I want to reflect on my recommendations to Fashion Institutions.
With the increased demand for academic material and lessons to be available online, the need for effective digital work environments have become essential. These type of working environments could help open opportunities for publishing online skill based courses. The University of the Arts are a great example of this with their current offer of online courses.
I believe 3D programmes should be taught throughout all fashion courses or at a Masters level as there is an increasing demand for this skill and I am witnessing many Universities already using or looking to include this within their content.
I believe students, lecturers and industry should be encouraged to engage in collaborative projects and discussions; all of which could help create an understanding of local and global industry requirements which in turn could help to build apprenticeships and future study programmes.
And Institutions should continue to work with industry to promote sustainable issues by providing support, research and resources, and they should be ever instilling in their students a desire for sustainability and innovation as they are the future leaders in the industry and will help drive the change.
https://www.aboutorganiccotton.org/
Bigthinx: Indian start-up transforms global fashion tech
https://uk.burberry.com/the-econyl-capsule/
https://fashionunited.uk/news/retail/diesel-to-roll-out-wearable-authenticity-tool/2017020823463
https://forbusiness.snapchat.com/inspiration/gucci-ar-tryon
https://www.thefabricant.com/puma
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement
CLO3D – Workshop Material
I wanted to put my recent learning of the CLO3D software to the test, so I devised a set of tutorials which allow me to combine my prior pattern cutting experience. The intention of the tutorials is to develop online training.
I started with a basic introduction to the workspace, explaining how to navigate in the 2D & 3D windows, the available tools, and explain the various modes that are available to work in, introducing them to working in CLO3D by covering some of the functions/tools available. Starting off with the basic for getting started to work in this space I gradually build on the learning by introducing patterns and pattern cutting techniques and showing how these could quickly be used in both the 2D & 3D workspaces, before moving onto how to layer multiple garment on the avatar by avoiding the collision of garments, tools used to style for the finished look and lastly I move onto the render and animation settings.
Introduction to the CLO3D Workspace – Here I have given an overview of the window/tools and functions available and there positioning in the workspace.
Introduction to CLO3D – This section covers how to navigate in the 3D and 2D windows, and has a quick start project that introduced a preloaded t/shirt garment with an explanation on how to place it on the avatar. I explain about the gizmo and how to use the arrangement points on the avatar showing quick assembly of pieces on the avatar. I show how to quickly build garments in the modular configurator mode and have an how to guides on making pattern alterations covering extending the hemline lengths, adding flare into the sleeve, and how to create shaped hemlines. I’ve also covered how to change the material properties along with how to alter its colour.
Skirts – Here I have shown how to create a basic skirt block according to size specifications and how by manipulating the darts and altering the pattern accordingly how other styles can be produced, maintaining the initial fit of the block. The guides show how to create a full skirt block, sew the seams and fit to the avatar. I then move onto creating skirts with yokes, waistbands, gathers & flare giving a good overview of some of the tools to use to create patterns in the 2D window. I also showed how to use the seam tape to reduce the stretch of the material as it would do in a physical garment.
The Basic Bodice Block – I have used this section to explain and show the many positioning points for the dart placement and how to manipulate this to create new styles. For those wanting to use the patterns for physical garments I explain the importance of annotating the pattern pieces and how to add the required seam allowances.
In this section I have also shown how to create shapes within the pattern and how to use the cut & sew or cut only options to create design details, I have shown how to create patterns which are both symmetrical and asymmetrical and how the block can be quickly used to create a dress pattern.
Within part of the pattern cutting exercises I wanted to incorporate some of the other functions to provide a further understanding off the tools available. Here I have shown how to use existing patterns to create new ones by adding zips, plackets, buttons, box pleats, pockets and have shown how to improve a realistic appearance to the garment by adding elastic properties, gathered properties, stitching and puckering effects. I also cover how to add a print to the garment and how to scale, rotate and reposition.
Styling – I have used this section to show how to add multiple garments to the scene, how to adjust your avatars pose/position with the use of it’s skeleton, how to use the settings such as solidify, freeze and strengthen and pins and tacks to help when styling the garment and how to use the steam setting to ensure the seam of the garments look their best.
Rendering and Animation – I finished by providing a brief overview of the render and animation functions by explaining how to set up your work to achieve the best results in each of the settings and how some setting are only shown when you access the render window (see fur shoes) covering how to render on own computer and how to render using CLO-SET. I’ve provided a run through of the animation setting, explaining how multiple camera angle may be recorded after the animation has completed.
Exploring Rhino & Python Code
Since entering into this digital world over a year ago I’ve been keen to learn new programmes and discover the power of what they can create. The idea of learning coding to improve my design experience and open up creativity would never have occurred to me whilst working in previous design/pattern cutting roles. But I now feel free to explore, make mistakes, learn and see where it may take me.
I’ve been working my way through a course on Future Learn (see link below) and to be honest it’s been challenging, and I find it difficult to fully understand the coding processes, terminology and order for instructions but I’ve managed to understand some basics and can turn off and put parts of the code on and make some alterations to the provided code. This is the second attempt at this course as I felt I had other areas of learning I’d prefer to start but now I’m back learning and I’m happy to say I’ve progressed further and I’ve been excited and encouraged with what I have learnt and created and I’m starting to appreciate the power of what working with code can do.
My initial thinking for wanting to learn to code was to explore it’s use in replicating 3D structures using research around Biomimicry but i’m discovering that I’m able to leverage the assets to create prints and obj’s which I can then use in other softwares like Adobe illustrator/Photoshop and CLO3D.
The images above show my learning on bone structures, adding shapes, points, randomisation and how to create patterns whilst using the provided code with alteration being made to the scale and position.
The below images show my exploration in using randomisation and the factor of inputing different start points and dimensional outputs which resulted in the shapes below.
When the patterns were created I was excited by the output and started to consider how I might use them. I really wanted to explore how I could use them to create prints and I’m also considering the possibilities of using the shapes to design garment pattern from by mapping the shapes around the form, but this is something I am still to explore.
The images below show how I use the information (shape) created in Rhino and I used it to created a repeat print using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, I was then able to see how the print might look on a garment by using CLO3D on a Zero Waste garment I had created previously. I was able to play with the scale, placement and proportion to find something I was happy with. I also experimented with the concept of making changes to the skins of the avatar by including the graphics onto her legs. This was new learning to me and I was able to include this by opening the avatars leg jpeg from the property editor into Photoshop, positioning the graphics accordingly, saving and selected the newly saved jpeg.
As the course progresses I am starting to be introduced to how to add colour and how to create shapes that are 3D.
Below is a selection of cones that have been created by inputting two sets of placements for circles and then using randomisation of sizing, with an additional input for adding a colour variation. As the cones are created the variation in sizing means that some of the cones will interact or overlap with others creating unusual patterns.
I further explored colour combination by exporting the file into Photoshop and adjusting the hue/saturation and also the colour balance.
Moving on from the cones I was able to input a sphere as a shape and adjust the variation in size, and quantities by adjusting the outputs across the x,y,z axis. I was really excited by this finding and I was keen to explore how I could use this newly created colourful spheres within my garment creation. In Rhino I firstly played around with the positioning with some of the spheres and then saved the file as an obj. I was then able to import the sphere obj into CLO3D where I played around with placing them around the avatar, adjusting the scale and position accordingly. I was happy to realise that I was able to further alter the spheres in CLO3D by using the property editor and adjusting the look of individual spheres using the material properties.
The below show how I have used the fur and iridescent properties which become evident only whilst in the render window.
Laser Cutting
01/11/21
One of the key areas I want to explore is how to use the laser cutter to discover what effects can be created and how the properties of the fabrics is affected.
I was keen to start the process so I chose to download some vector files from Vecteezy of some designs which I felt would create some interesting designs but after getting in touch with the Workshop Manager I soon realised that there would be no instructors in the workshop on the day I planned to come in. Instead I chose a day when help would be available if required, and this allowed me a further week so I decided to put my research into action and I created some vector files of my own.
Sustainable Fabric Sourcing
The Future Fabrics Expo by the Sustainable Angle (London) Textile Fair
22nd June – 2nd July 2021
The below images are a selection of fabrics which were of particular interest when I attended The Future Fabric Expo in London earlier this year. I am eager to source fabrics which are sustainable and ethical and this event certainly matched my expectations. There were so many fabrics on offer and although the show was much smaller than the likes of PV or London Textile fair it was great to know you didn’t have to hunt down the sustainable sections from the ranges with the benefit of it all being under one roof.
I was interested in all there was to offer and loved all the information points on the latest technologies and emerging fabrics but I specifically focussed on selecting fabrics where I felt I’d be able to meet the minimum order requirements. This unfortunately drastically reduces my options but I left pleased with the varying qualities, interest fabrics, print houses, trims and novelty fabrics available.
In the interest of sustainability you’re not expected to have your scissors out taking cuttings, instead you’re asked to take photo’s of the fabrics and composition details along with the supplier contact information, so as you may notice i’ve tried my best to capture the drape of the fabric in image form.
For more information follow the links below:
The Sustainable Angle
Fashion Film – S/S 14 Abstraction Couture Collection
I’ve been busy working on a few dresses as part of the Estelle Pearce Couture collection. The collection is named “Abstraction” and is based around the work of the Yorkshire Sculptress, Barbara Hepworth; inspiration was drawn from the flow, hollows, contours and stringing within her work.
As part of the design process I felt it was essential that I documented the dresses and so I worked with a film company to produce a short fashion film, you can check out the film using the link below.
I’d like to say a special thank you to the Flightcase Film team who made this fabulous film.
A diffusion range will also be available using some of the same techniques and details so be sure to keep watching for my full Spring/Summer 14 collection.
Hope you enjoy the film
Estelle x x
estellepearce.wordpress.com 