UNIVERSIDADE DA BEIRA INTERIOR Faculdade de Engenharia Amalgamated Pattern Making as a Creative Resource (Case Study) Antonio Marcos Barreto Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Design de Moda (2º ciclo de estudos) Versão Final Orientador: Profº. Doutor José Mendes Lucas Co-Orientador: Profº e Escritor. Simon Siles lowear Covilhã, Junho 2018 Dedication This study is dedicated to my Partner, C.R.Shoebridge, who has been a constant source of support and encouragement during the challenges of graduate University and life. I am truly thankful for having you in my life. This work is also dedicated to my parents, Maria Neusa and Antonio Barreto, who have always loved me unconditionally and whose good examples have taught me to work hard for the things that I aspire to achieve. ii iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank all the people who contributed in some way to the work described in this thesis. First and foremost, I thank my academic advisor, Professor Dr. José Lucas, for accepting me into his group. During my tenure, he contributed to a rewarding graduate University experience by giving me intellectual freedom in my work, supporting my attendance at various conferences, engaging me in new ideas, and demanding a high quality of work in all my endeavours. His friendly guidance and expert advice have been invaluable throughout all stages of the work. I would also like to thank all the Professors and Technicians in the Fashion Design department of the University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal, also I would like to express my full appreciation to all the staff of University of Beira Interior. I would like to express my unqualified thanks to my partner, C.R. Shoebridge. who has been by my side throughout this work, living every single minute of it, and without whom I would not have accomplished this dissertation. I would also like to say a heartfelt thank you to my Mum and Dad, Maria Neusa and Antonio Barreto, for always believing in me and encouraging me to follow my dreams. A very special thank to Professor Dr. Romilton Batista de Oliveira, for his invaluable advice and feedback on my research and for always being so supportive of my work. I also would like to express my very special thank to the Population and the City of Covilha, thank you so much for making me feel very welcome. It has really felt like home. I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Florisbela Rodrigues and family, very special thanks to you all. I would also like to thank to thank Paola Antonelli, Michelle Millar Fisher and Stephanie Kramer, instructors on the The Museum of Modern Art “Fashion as Design” course, who gave me the opportunity to comprehend the difference between Fashion and Design. Last but certainly not least my very very special thanks to my lord God. Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you for bringing hope through even the toughest of times, strengthening us for your purposes. Thank you for your great love and care. iv v Epigraph "... A fashion designer Want I to be, But don't worry, I shall become On my own Resources. A torn jeans, Patched and darned is ready, To be worn by me With the goggles, If not available Then the toy glasses will do And my boots, Don't bother you. No tension for this, Take you not, My eldest brother's Old and hanging boots, Abandoned so long, I am ready to wear it, A fashion designer, In the shirt of my grandfather And the pants of my brother. A fashion designer I, It's my style. “A fashion designer” Bijay Kant Dubey vi vii Abstract The objective of this dissertation is to investigate and study the connection between the technological development found in the history of fashion clothing and design. A further objective is to consider the importance of anthropometry, ergonomics, volumetrics, geometry and body shape, and to demonstrate, through case study, avenues for adapting and incorporating flat patterning in the creative process of Fashion Design Teaching: “Amalgamated (Hybrid) modelling as a creative resource”. Every fashion designer needs to think about his personal creative process and how best to stimulate his own creativity. There are some methods that can promote creativity and these need to be made part of the designer’s daily routine in order to develop distinctive and innovative work. When building a collection, the fashion designer must adopt a methodological approach. Flat patterning reaches the heart of mathematics. It demands logical reasoning and an ability to integrate a number of disciplines. Consequently, it can give the impression of being a rigorous, complex practice, full of often incomprehensible rules, because it can be difficult to grasp its precise theory and practice. But this is an area of knowledge of great significance to students of fashion design while undergoing their academic training because the good professional must have at least a basic understanding of how their design will be put together as a result of flat patterning. In teaching, flat patterning is often set apart from the creative process and is combined with the later stage of execution. According to Mariano, “it is the process of flat patterning that defines the transformation of flat materials into three-dimensional shapes capable of adaptation to the human body. [...] It also determines whether the clothing can be reproduced”. Mariano (2011, no page) It is clear that developing a flat pattern is a very important step in the creation of a garment. Its function is not only to configure the garment but also to ensure it can be standardized and reproduced. However, when dealt with as a predominantly technical subject, its application can become divorced from the concept of creation because it appears to have no artistic content. By approaching flat patterning technique in a composite way, taking advantage of its two- pronged nature to incorporate it in the creative elements of the Fashion Design course, it can become a means of sparking the creative process which has made great names in high fashion in the past. Coelho (2008) argues that patterning should be understood as being more than a technique. viii He says that it loses the dynamic sense intrinsic to the concept of a method that is part of a larger process - all the research carried out by the designer – when flat patterning is either not fully understood or taught simply as a technique. Logical reasoning is vital when making flat patterns. But mastery of technique is also essential. Novaes (2008), extends Coelho’s reasoning by saying: “Other possible routes in processing a garment result from cross-referencing between standardization methods and production systems. [...] Configuring geometric patterns with three-dimensional modelling when developing a prototype is a further possible method of shaping a garment.”. (Novaes, 2011, p.93). A great example of composite patterning as a creative resource in the teaching of Fashion Design is the stylist Tomoko Nakamichi, who teaches at the famous “Bunka” Fashion School in Japan. She departs from the traditional patterning approach and, in effect, offers a hybrid technique which combines and enlarges the ranges of standard flat and three-dimensional modelling. It follows that educators should bear in mind that a study and understanding of the principles of human anatomy will instil a knowledge of how to evaluate the human profile, so contours can be followed or altered. Concepts of proportion, symmetry and volume (or volumetrics), as well as height and width measurements, are fundamental to producing a technical design and modelling pattern. This information needs to be included in the planning of a garment during graphic design. In conclusion, teaching flat patterning in a creative way, combining its different elements, can be a force to promote creativity, giving the student the opportunity to see a garment, or fashion product, in three dimensions. This modelling technique allows the fashion professional greater creative freedom thanks to immediate three-dimensional visual contact with the product. It also benefits the student who gains greater control over the creation of a garment in a liberating way that also facilitates improvements to the final results. Keywords Pattern making, design, fashion, creative process ix x xi Resumo Esta dissertação objectiva estudar e investigar a relação do desenvolvimento tecnológico velados na história da indumentária, moda e design, assim como antropometria, ergonomia volumetria, geometria, corpo e formas para fins, de buscar e exemplificar través de estudo de caso a possibilidade de incorporar e adequar a modelagem no processo criativo do ensino de design de moda “modelagem hibrida como recurso criativo”. Nesse contexto, todo criador precisa pensar sobre seu processo criativo na moda e como estimular sua própria criatividade. Existem algumas ferramentas que podem ser usadas para promover a criatividade, e estas devem ser incorporadas à rotina diária para que o designer possa desenvolver um trabalho diferenciado e inovador. O designer de moda deve estabelecer uma abordagem metodológica para desenvolver uma colecção. A modelagem por passar pelo cerne da matemática, esta requer raciocínio lógico e a capacidade de articular uma série de disciplinas dando a impressão de ser uma prática complexa, rigorosa e cheia de regras, muitas vezes incompreensível devido a uma certa dificuldade de assimilação do seu teor prático e exacto. Por conseguinte esta área do conhecimento se faz de grande importância na formação académica dos alunos de cursos de design de moda pois o bom profissional deve pelo menos deter o conhecimento básico do produto que se vai construir através da modelagem. A modelagem no ensino é frequentemente separada do processo criativo, sendo incorporada mais tarde na etapa do processo de execução.