As consumers become more engaged in the making process of their products, designers are finding increasingly fascinating means by which to create their wares. We’ve seen designers blowing up sheets of metal to create chairs, and Martijn Rigters’ marginally less dangerous means of depositing his customer’s rear-ends into quick-setting foam – but what of fashion? How far can process be innovated?
Pretty far if you ask Laura Lynn Jansen and Thomas Vailly, who presented their Inner Fashion micro-factory at Milan Design Week. Applying the lo-fi manufacturing process – that’s become such a thing in product design of late – to garment-making, the two Eindhoven design graduates show the entire fashion cycle, from stocking of fabrics through design, making and onto catwalk and showroom. All with the help of a rather large balloon. Of course. It’s all a lot simpler than it sounds; glue is applied to an outer fabric stretched over an inner fabric, stretched over a balloon. Said balloon is deflated, and the garment created. We suggest watching the video and casting your eyes over the images below – this is a process that doesn’t transpose to words so well…
Fast Fashion is what Jansen and Vailly call their process, and it gives a whole new meaning to prêt-à-porter – especially given a dress can take just 15-30 minutes, when all goes well. Which of course is a factor, “the technique creates unexpected results sometimes, that we need to tame or exploit” say the duo, but we’d urge them to err on side of exploitation – it’s those little quirks that make these low tech processes so much fun.
Inner Fashion at Cascina Cuccagna,
Milan Design Week 2013
Photography © Thomas Vailly & Laura Lynn Jansen
