Blog 5: Dane Brennon and James Cliburn - Concept 2

Font: Elephant (Italic)

Front - Sketch by Dane

Back - Sketch by Dan

Still going from the 1960s Mod Style Dane and James are fond of, this dress also uses the short-skirt style, but is sleeveless and has long leggings. This dress is highly contrasty, being only solid black and white. This ties in with the conceptual nature of the dress.

The fact that "one minute we're alive, the next we're dead" has been a hot metaphysical topic sense the dawn of philosophical thought. Some has come up with idea that we don't really 'stop' when we're dead, while other are content with the idea of becoming compost material once we are.

This dress explores a more simplistic view on the subject - the fact that we are here and then gone. It's very black and white (see what we did there): Here - Gone. And yet, it's very elegant in it's simplicity. This is why we decided to go with a Modern typeface and classy silhouette. The material will be paper, and the type will be divided with "I Was Here" on the front, and the rest on the back on a little cap, connected to the collar on the front. The decision of full italic, full regular, or half-and-half is still being played around with.

Blog 5: Dane Brennon and James Cliburn - Concept 1

Font: League Gothic

Dress Form Sketch by Dane, Colored by James

In terms of style, this dress is based from a combination of 1960s Mod and a design James created for a friend sometime ago (http://www.howineverwasarainbow.com) - Short and long sleeved, with a black middle section sided by 2 color areas.

Conceptually, the dress is a subtle story of self-loathing and unrealized worth. The black section represents the inner-feelings of a person who feels as those they are a piece of shit, i.e. that they have no worth as a person and mean nothing to everyone. However, this is offset by the 'truth' along the arms and neck. The color along these areas represent the fact that the person does in fact have an outer worth - that they reach out and touch people's lives, perhaps simply by just existing.

The ideal material for this dress will be wool, or one with a similar soft/heavy feel and appearance. The type will be employed within the dark section (colored white) in some manner.

Indelible Imprints of the Past - Nadine Bauthamy and Andrew McGinkey - Project 5

Argentina between 1976 & 1983

The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. According to different sources, between 9,000 to 30,000 people were killed or "disappeared” in Argentina during this period under Videla's dictatorship. Videla’s military Junta operated with impunity and for the enforcement of their political will they relied on mass illegal arrests, torture, kidnapping and executions without trial to smother any political opposition.

Next to this horrific scene, a different type of revolution was taking place. This is the time when Astor Piazzolla became world renowned. He was an Argentine bandoneon player who revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style, nuevo tango. Though taking a political stance was not his style, he did have to fight his own battle. He was too attacked for breaking the old molds, but he defended himself, saying at times a word too many! These were the best years of his career.

Argentina made news again when they became World (Soccer) Champion in 1978 beating the Netherlands 3-1. It was Argentina’s first World Cup title. It is said that the stadium was located a mile away from a concentration camp, the notorious Naval Mechanics School (ESMA), where prisoners in the Dirty War allegedly could hear the roars of the crowd during the match “prompting echoes of Hitler's manipulation of sports during the 1936 Berlin Olympics.” Several times the Montoneros tried to disrupt the World Cup Soccer Tournament being hosted by launching a number of bomb attacks. Johan Cruyff (dutch player) boycotted the world cup finals on political grounds, and highlighted the plight of thousands of young men and women who were tortured and murdered under a fascist dictatorship.

Lacey Besore & Michelle Batol: Concept Boards, Blog 5

Mother Earth

This concept is called Mother Earth. The dress we create will be a dress that “mother Earth” would wear.

The meaning behind this design is about being eco friendly and being kind to your environment and the other creatures that you share this planet with. The concept doesn’t focus on one way to be eco friendly is it a focus on all the ways to respect the planet and keep it livable.

            We will try to use to the best of our ability eco-friendly and recycled materials. The main structure of the dress will be made of muslin and the outer part of the dress will be made from eco-friendly and recycled products.

            For the process we will use stencils with screen print ink on the sash that will read “ Respect your Mother”. The dress will be made out of cut outs of leaves for the bodice that will be glued or stitched on and the skirt of the dress will have hand made roses attached most likely with hand sewing. We will also be making 1 or 2 child's dresses to show that "she" is a mother.

            The inspiration comes from the city of Portland’s love for being eco-friendly. Since mother earth is not a real person we wanted the dress to have an ethereal quality.

            We will be putting the text on the sash of the dress. That should tie our message together with the design of the dress. And the dress will have a back zipper and be soft enough to take on and off.

visual verse

The Story

You’re down. Had a bad day, basically a debbie downer. You get into your car/room and turn on some music that will fit this mood oh so perfectly. This song knows you. Takes your thoughts and turns it into verses. It brings you up and out of your gloom. You might still cry or curse. But this song helped you clear your head and get on with the rest of the day.

Many people can relate to using music as a form of relief from stress. The inspiration is music and how it can change a person’s mood and actions. That is what we’re portraying in this dress.

The size of the garment will be a floor length dress with a small train in the back to act as if you're letting go of the negative words. The dress will be made of latex. The words will be spray painted or hand painted with the musical pattern.

LeAna Leo and Sara Matsuzaki: BLOG 5

A Hard Read

The concept of this project is “hard to read” or a “hard read”. We will try to be saying that you can’t always judge people and things by what you see, you have to look a little deeper sometimes, trying to say that things aren’t always what they seem. This concept is somewhat simple, by showing people one thing they may think or judge it one way but once they closely examine and get enough information to truly judge their subject they may think very differently.

We will be using fabric as our main material for this dress. Currently we have been working on a design that incorporates lot of different panels on the front of the dress that will be full of confusing jumbled letters and words. Then on the back of the dress it will be a solid color with a quote that is easy to read. This dress will incorporate our concept and theme and will surely be a challenge.

Ryan Simpson & Ashley Woodward, Blog 5 (Dress Concept 2)

 

Dress 2, Ad Astra per Aspera “To the Stars with Difficulties" or "Over the Thorns to the Stars”:

Our second concept is inspired by the Latin phrase: Ad Astra per Aspera or “to the stars with difficulties”. Our influence comes from Ancient Rome, where the language originated. 

The dress will tell the story of overcoming adversity through trial. Our aim is to maintain delicate strength while embodying an ethereal mood. We will accomplish this through printed graphics, mixed media, and will support our mood through silhouette and construction.

The text Ad Astra per Aspera will be sashayed across the torso with our printed story travelling up the body. We plan to experiment with different materials, starting with plain and specialty papers such as metallic tissue paper and novelty paper. We also plan to explore lighting, elaborate collar pieces, frame structures and layering. 

Ryan Simpson & Ashley Woodward, Blog 5 (Dress Concept 1)

Dress 1, Forgotten Love Letters:

For our first concept, we chose one of our initial concepts titled “Forgotten Love Letters.” Letters and mementos of past relationships initially inspired the concept. The concept itself is an expression of the angst and emotions one feels after experiencing a failed relationship. Old love letters and items can be stored, destroyed, and put out of mind, but the emotional scars and memories are still felt well after the material is lost.

The text element of the design is based on this concept. The title of the concept, “Forgotten Love Letters”, refers to the loss of the material remainders of a lost relationship, however, the phrase “forget me not” refers to the inability of one to move on completely. They may still find themselves held down or restrained by the emotions and angst left behind.

The materials used for the dress consists of tea-dyed paper “letters” and black duck-tape, used to add surface design elements, as well as to illustrate a sense of emotional bondage by its use as straps and a corset. The silhouette of the dress is reminiscent of Victorian and Romantic period dresses, evoking a sense of timeless elegance. The combination of the period elegance, mixed with rough, textured materials will be combined in the hopes of creating a dark, melancholy, yet alluring mood overall.

The print for the dress will be created using combinations of hand writing, tea-dyeing, and the burning of text into paper using a wood burning tool.