Project Brief

*Design Brief:

My Project brief is to create a collection of textile surfaces that can offer the consumer multiple utility options based on the theme of flowers in Bangalore.

*Concept:

Fashion, being an ever changing medium, has always been a source of great interest and inspiration for me. As a consumer and a student I have come to understand that most fashion garments are bought for their functional and aesthetic appeal. Once a garment has served its purpose, it is either donated/discarded or stored away. Drawing from this, I began to think of how it could be possible to increase the life span and usability of these products. An effective way to accomplish this would be to provide a basis for a consumer to engage with textile surfaces in terms of being able to transform the surface and its physical form, therefore enhancing consumer engagement and being able to redefine and restore its value/use.

Considering the fact that I have been living in Bangalore for the past four years, I began to work toward a concept or motif that is characteristic of this city. Bangalore is the garden city of India. For me this has resulted in a constant exposure to the flora of this city, with its colour, form, vibrancy and diversity and has inspired my work. My surrounding environment with its small details and different perspectives help to form part of a story that can be explored through textures, pattern and colour. 

In terms of placing flowers within the context of my project I began to think of how I could try to preserve the freshness and feel of an actual flower though textile surfaces. Flowers have a short life span; they perish within a matter of hours. Drawing from this aspect of flora, I want to seize the essence of flowers and despite their short life span, attempt to utilize a textile medium to extend the duration of their being. Using a combination of textile design and floral motifs, I want to capture the colour and drama of Bangalore’s blossoms and enhance that with simple consumer engagement. This would involve experimentation in terms of mixing different media to create a variety of colours and textile combinations that will be translated into textile surfaces.

The aim of this project is to create a unique line of textile surfaces that allow the consumer to transform the fabric and interact with it such that, not only does it offer multiple utility options but also gives the product line a longer life span and maybe a higher value. I want the consumer to be able to experience the flower and at the same time be able to mould the fabric in ways that appeal to them. This involves an incorporation of my inspiration and the attempt to translate the actual look and feel of a flower through fabric. The scope of transforming the textile surfaces is through using simple techniques, for example: scrunching, layering, assemblage, folding etc. hence making it a self-engaging textile surface and allowing the consumer to gain more value from this product.

*Methods and approach:

Visiting the gardens around Bangalore, outdoor drawing and sketching.

Conducting surveys and interviews asking women about their engagement and interaction with flowers.

On the surfaces I would explore engineered techniques of digital and screen printing.

I would also incorporate other skills like basic embroidery, illustration style, pattern and motif development and surface layering.

A major challenge for me would be to design engineered prints that have the scope to be transformed.

The final products would have high quality finishing to them.

I would be also looking into different innovative pleating and folding techniques and re-using scrap fabric.

*Learning outcomes

Designing the transformation of a surface/ product into another product of equal of greater aesthetic value and function.

Through this project I would get to explore the botanical gardens in Bangalore, increase my knowledge about the variety of flora that thrives in the gardens.

Communicate the engaging and experimental aspect of the textile surfaces in an effective and appropriate manner.

Explore different textile techniques and use them effectively to produce patterns.

Extracting the aesthetic feel of the flora and incorporating it effectively into a textile surface (garment, accessory etc.)