Describe and discuss a space where you find the interactivity particularly compelling. Do you see yourself contributing to the design of interactive spaces at some point during your career? Do you think design disciplines are converging?
It seems as though the convergence of design disciplines is becoming more and more obvious now but design disciplines have always existed in a symbiotic relationship with one another. Architecture illustrates these symbiotic relationships the best because so many different kinds of designers fall under its umbrella; furniture, textile, and industrial design disciplines just to name a few. Many designers became famous for disciplines that they weren't actually trained in, i.e. Marc Newson, one of the most famous contemporary industrial designers working today, was trained as a jewelry designer and attributes his acute attention to detail and love of materials to his jewelry design education. Currently, I am grappling with where technology, materials, textiles, fashion, and industrial design converge, particularly because I am starting to think about what I want to pursue for my thesis next year. Our most intimate form of shelter is our clothing and it is a place that has a lot of opportunity to be extremely intelligent and versatile. So for me, the definition of space is not limited to structures that are made of mortar and stone, but also includes structures that are woven and sewn together.
For my Design History class, I just finished reading this essay entitled "Future of Fashion." The author, Donna Ghelerter, writes
"The manufacturing of clothes has always been affected by technological advances. The sewing machine revolutionized the clothing industry in the nineteenth century, and zippers altered clothing construction when they were perfected for use in the 1930's. In the early 2000s, technological innovations in fabrics influence how designers think about clothing, with textiles being developed that have properties unheard of in natural fibers. The abilities of these high-tech fabrics to stretch to over-whelming sizes or change their structure according to temperatures inspire clothing designers and blur the lines between fashion and industrial design."
A contemporary fashion designer that perhaps best embodies this notion is Hussein Chalayan. His intelligent and thoughtful embracing of technology has made him the go-to example for the ideal convergence of technology and fashion. Of his own work, Chalayan says, "Everything around us either relates to the body or to the environment. I think of modular systems where clothes are like small parts of an interior, the interiors are part of architecture, which is then part of an urban environment. I think of fluid space where they are all a part of each other, just in different scales and proportions." (The Berg Companion to Fashion, p.137) Chayalan is describing a modern notion of design which is that everything works in systems, and we have to understand how those systems relate to each other on a larger scale in order to understand how those systems can best be designed and developed.
For me, where technology and fibers converge is one of the most interesting and exciting areas of exploration that is happening right now. In the New York Times Magazine's annual Year in Ideas issue, one of the ideas highlighted was a method invented for growing clothes from bacterial culture which was developed by Suzanne Lee, a senior research fellow at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London. I also recently read an article about Taiwanese researchers developing bendable e-readers and screens made from silk that was produced by genetically modified spider-goats. SPIDER-GOATS!! FABRICs THAT GROW!! There are so many exciting, controversial, and weird developments happening in the world of textiles, materials, and science. I wish I had the confidence and passion that Dan Ionescu exhibited during his presentation when talking about what I'm interested in for my thesis. Dan spoke about his work with so much confidence and energy that it was hard not to be excited about what he was interested in. I hope that by the time my thesis presentation rolls around next year, I can talk about my work with the same enthusiasm and confidence.
P.S. This studio, Local Projects, located in New York called does a lot of really interesting work with interactive media and public spaces.
Nice post Kristin. I had no idea there were so many interesting developments textiles and fashion. System design is definitely one of the big topics these days. I find it interesting that fashion designers are thinking about the topic as well, and it makes sense that they would. Looking at pop culture, some of Lady Gaga's fashions are more a system than a garment.
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