Evaluative Report

  At first, I did not have knowledge about sustainable design so much. And I had an impression that recycled products, and sustainable products are not always good design. But I could learn there are a range of effective sustainable design which have good quality and design through taking this sustainable design lecture. I researched about sustainable design related to fashion and textile design especially in Japan, as I would like to know the current state of sustainable design in my country.

  In detail, in Japan there is a new type of stylish and unique recycle shop where customers and sellers can share their feeling and story each other through items presented not only through their images, but also by a brief profile of the seller and a short anecdote about the item. I supposed that re-providing value to second-hand items is an essential process to keep recycling continuously.

  And other example of effective sustainable design in Japan is origami design. Origami is the one of the Japanese traditional cultures. Nowadays a large number of valuable traditional cultures and methods are being lost. However origami method has been relighted as a useful method of sustainable design by designers, because what we need is only folding materials without creating any waste. In fact, a lot of designers create sustainable products using origami method such as Hydro- Fold inkjet printer by PLEAT FARM, IN-EI by ISSEY MIYAKE, and a blanket made of wood by Elisa Strozyk. In this regards, I learnt that re-think about traditional cultures and methods would leads to development of useful methods of sustainable design and simultaneously valuable endangered culture can be protected. 

  Throughout my research, I could also think about how I can apply my creations to sustainable ways. To be honest, when I created my works, I was more concerned with producing creations which look good rather than those were environmentally friendly. However after researching sustainable design, I thought that I had to seriously consider about how I can relate to sustainable design as a designer in near future. 

  One possible way that I can relate to sustainable design is thinking about dye methods. I believed that using natural dyes to colour fabric and yarn was more ecological and safer for humans than using synthetic dyes. But actually, according to my research, using natural dyes is not always more ecological and safer for humans than synthetic dyes, because of toxic additive to make the fiber absorb the dye fully, a significant amount of water and heat usage. So, I realized that I need to judge which is better natural dyes or synthetic dyes, depending on the fabric, yarn, weather, humidity or other factors. I believe that can connect to sustainability.

  And I researched about knitting brands related to sustainability, because I am a knitter and I would like to be a knit designer. I am really interested in GUDRUN & GUDRUN, a knitwear brand based at the Faroe Islands called sheep Island. They chose Faroe Island as a main place of their brand in order to obtain good quality materials like organic wool in low cost and to produce their products using hand knitting. In general, if products have good design or high quality like using organic materials and hand knitting, their selling price must be also high. Although quality and design of GUDRUN & GUDRUN’s products are good, the selling price is affordable for customers. Therefore, I supposed it could be said that GUDRUN & GUDRUN creats an ideal sustainable design cycle for designers and customers through their products. 

   All in all, taking sustainable design lectures were a good opportunity to think about sustainable design as a not only customer, also a designer. Now, I am a student, so applying sustainability effectively in the process of making creations is sometimes difficult, but I would like to make effort to relate sustainability little by little such as thinking about used dyes and materials carefully to be a designer whose creations bring efficient sustainable design cycle in industry in the future.

Sustainable Knit Brands

  
  
  I could not attend seminar2, but I looked at the file of seminar2. Kirsti Reitan Andersen's projects are very interesting. I learnt that there are many kinds of approaches to improve design toward sustainability in fashion industry. In the file, she mentions about GUDRUN & GUDRUN, a knitwear brand based at the Faroe Islands, as a good example of sustainable fashion brand. I am really interested in this brand, since I study knitting now. 

  Knitting needs a range of professional  techniques and a lot of specific knowledge. Now, a lot of useful and helpful knitting techniques for sustainable design have been invented. And  also many kinds of eco-friendly yarn have appeared. So, I researched UK and Japanese knitting brands which relate to sustainable design, including GUDRUN & GUDRUN. 

・GUDRUN & GUDRUN (http://www.gudrungudrun.com)

(Gudrun&Gundrun, traditional sweater, 2013)

  Gudrun&Gundrun, founded by two Faroese women, Guðrun Ludvig and Guðrun Rógvadottir, is known for their hand-knit designer clothes. Inspired by the nature surrounding them, the label is popular in large cosmopolitan cities, like New York and Tokyo. But actually I did not know GUDRUN & GUDRUN until I looked at the seminar file.

  I will see some representative of their garments as a example. This white & blue sweater is one of the traditional line's items. The traditional styles are handknitted from 100 % organic Faroese wool which is neither dyed nor treated with any chemicals. The colours are the natural colours of the sheep.  And the price is EUR 310. 

(Gudrun&Gundrun, collection2013)

   

   And other example is this  amazing colourful sweater made of mohair, wool and alpaca blends and also hand knitted.  The price is EUR 350.

　They do not make only women's wear but also men's wear and kids wear. The following pink cardigan is their kids wear. This is made of 100% wool trim 100% alpaca, and the price is EUR 130.

   

(Gudrun&Gundrun, kid's line2013)

   I felt impressive, when I saw Gudrun&Gundrun's products and designer's concept. Despite using eco-friendly organic materials and natural dyes to make products, the design of their products is very sophisticated and fashionable. I think Gudrun&Gundrun is not just a sustainable fashion brand.

  What the most surprising for me about Gudrun&Gundrun is that all their products are hand knitted. As you know, hand knitting takes a large amount of time to make just a sweater, but hand knitting has a warm heart and smooth texture. Therefore, usually price of hand-knitted products is more than twice of machine- knitted products. However  the price of their products is affordable price. Personally, I think it is too cheap in good way. Although the price is not too expensive, they used high quality materials like organic wool, mohair and alpaca as a main material. 

  I thought why they can sell hand-knitted product made of organic materials  for below-retail prices. One of the possible reasons I considered is that the Faroe Island where Gudrun&Gundrun makes their products mainly literally means Sheep Islands. It’s located between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean and is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. There are about 90,000 sheeps in the island and their wool is very soft and warm.  In addition to this, the island is famous for traditional knitting. So people in the island are familiar with hand-knitting since their childhood. That is why Gudrun&Gundrun can get good quality materials for low cost, and they can make their products using all hand-knitting.

  Generally, if people would like to make fashion products, they could chose a big city such as Paris, New York, or London as main location to make products. But Gudrun&Gundrun daringly chose their home town as a main place to produce their products. I suppose the reason why they choose the Faroe Island more than Paris, New York, or London is that they consider making products which have good quality, a warm heart and affordable price is important factors to keep using their products for customers. In fact, their products have been loved in the world including big cities like New York, and Tokyo, even though their products are born in the small island. It could be said that if products and designer's thought are attractive and fantastic, which place products made in does not matter, even it is a small island. 

(Gudrun&Gundrun, video of making garments)

・knitchy (http://www.knitchy.jp)

( Knitchy, collection2013)

Knitchy is a Japanese men's knitwear brand. They used Japanese high-quality knitting technology, and they stick meticulously to choice of yarn. But price of their knitwear is affordable price and their knitwear is durable.  



   In Japan, there are knitting factories which can make high quality knitted products. However the number of such factories have decreased from year to year. That is a serious problem in Japanese manufacturing industry. Products of Japanese manufacturing industry must be known as high quality in the world. So, I think that Japan should make efforts to protect high quality techniques of manufacturing industry.

・YUKI FUJISAWA (yuki-fujisawa.tumblr.com/‎)

(Yuki Fujiwara, collection2013)

Yuki Fujiwara is a Japanese artist. She got vintage sweaters and then she re-knited them, fixed their size,  and printed on their surface. So, every sweater is one-off products.

・Here Today Here Tomorrow (http://www.heretodayheretomrrow.com)

(Here Today Here Tomorrow, collection2013)

Since 2011, Emma and Anna of HTHT spent a month in Kathmandu working with the Association of Craft Producers (ACP), a not-for-profit fair trade organisation and a member of WFTO, providing opportunities for low income, primarily female artisans in 15 different districts of Nepal. Each product in the HTHT collections is handmade and provides the artisan who made it with economic and social support.

・TRAIDremade (http://www.traidremade.com)

(TRAIDremade, collection2013)

TRAIDremade makes clothes ethically in the UK – reusing unwanted textiles and producing in their Dalston studio and a small factory in Tottenham, London. Buy online or in-store at TRAID Dalston and TRAID Camden. They also do clothes collection service.

・From Somewhere (http://fromsomewhere.co.uk)

(From Somewhere, collection2013)

The new AW13 From Somwhere collection is a heady remix of classic FS imbued with new energy by designer Brandy Easter (fresh from BA Womenswear at CSM) and talented pattern cutter Jack Kindred-Boothby, who reworked luxury pre-consumer fabrics such as proofs, swatches, end-of-rolls and off-cuts reclaimed from the world’s leading design houses and mills.

References
・From Somewhere (2013) [Internet]. Available from :<http://fromsomewhere.co.uk> [Accessed 10 December 2013].

・GUDRUN & GUDRUN (2013) [Internet]. Available from :<http://www.gudrungudrun.com> [Accessed 10 December 2013].

・Here Today Here Tomorrow (2013) [Internet]. Available from :<http://www.heretodayheretomrrow.com> [Accessed 10 December 2013].

・knitchy (2013) [Internet]. Available from :<http://www.knitchy.jp> [Accessed 10 December 2013].

・TRAIDremade (2013) [Internet]. Available from :<http://www.traidremade.com> [Accessed 10 December 2013].

・YUKI FUJISAWA(2013) [Internet]. Available from :<yuki-fujisawa.tumblr.com/> [Accessed 10 December 2013].

Reflection of Lecture4, 10.Design Activism

Setouchi International Art Festival in Japan (http://setouchi-artfest.jp)

  The Setouchi Triennale (also known as the Setouchi International Art Festival) is a contemporary art festival held every three years on a dozen islands in the Seto Inland Sea (Setonaikai), the sea which separates Honshu and Shikoku, two of Japan's main islands. It was first held in 2010.

  Contemporary art has gained a prominent position in the region in recent decades thanks to various art projects by the Benesse Corporation on the island of Naoshima and more recently on the islands of Inujima and Teshima, all of which also serve as festival venues. The Setouchi Triennale is intended to further strengthen the region's position as a leading site for contemporary art and to spread the art to additional islands.

  Like many rural parts of Japan, the islands in the Seto Inland Sea have been suffering from massive depopulation in recent decades, while their remaining residents have been aging at a rapid pace, causing a wide range of problems. One of the festival's main goals is to counteract these trends and revitalize the region in a sustainable and creative way by bringing contemporary art and tourism onto the islands.

  Visitors to the region will be charmed not only by the intriguing art but also by the laid back, slow paced rural atmosphere of the islands' villages and the beauty of the island scenery. In many ways the festival resembles the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, a similar art festival, which is held every three years in a rural mountainous area of Niigata Prefecture.

(Kusama.Y, Pumpkin)

  During the festival, nearly 150 artworks by artists from Japan and overseas were exhibited on the twelve islands and around the ports of Takamatsu and Uno in addition to a considerable number of museums and art sites already in existence, including several permanent art installations from the 2010 festival. Much of the artwork will remain standing even after the end of the festival, justifying a visit to the area at any time of the year.

  The artworks are found across the islands. Some of them stand outdoors in the fields, along the coast or in villages. Others make use of the numerous old homes which have been left abandoned due to the depopulation. The buildings are employed as exhibition spaces or have been converted into artworks themselves. In addition, there are the established museums and art sites on Naoshima, Inujima and Teshima islands.

(Chityu Museum)

  I think this Setouchi International Art Festival could be said design activism, TED no.10 strategy. In fact, Setouchi International Art Festival 2010 brought about a beneficial economic effect on local economy. More specifically, according to the report of Kagawa prefecture in 2010, more than one million visitors came to Setouchi International Art Festival 2010 from home and abroad, and the festival brought more than 10 billion yen's economic effect. In this regard, the festival would be said one of the successful examples of local revitalization using art and design.

  

  The most important influence of Setouchi International Art Festival I consider is that the festival has changed negative impression of islands, the festival's main venues. For instance, the small island of Oshima off the coast of Takamatsu serves as a treatment center and community for sufferers of Hansen's Disease. Because of this history, Oshima had been considered negative legacy by Japanese people, and no one felt to want to visit there. However, in a collaboration project between artists, hospitals and residents, an old dormitory was transformed into a fantastic art gallery. Nowadays many people have visited Oshima to see the gallery and art works. I believe that changing people's impression is extremely difficult, especially in case of bad impression. Although Ohima had negative impression from people due to Hansen's Disease, art and design have altered people's impression on Oshima. 

Inujima

    Another example is Naoshima and Inujima which are used to be refineries. But most of refineries went bankrupt with the times. Now the Seirensho art project, built into the ruins of an old copper refinery in Inujima, is one of the festival's most noteworthy pieces. Eight smaller artworks can be found around the island's small village. And In the last few decades Naoshima has been transformed into an art island featuring the excellent Chichu Museum designed by Tadao Ando, Benesse Art House, Lee Ufan Museum and Art House Project. Actually I have been to Naoshima, when I was a university student in Japan. There were a significant number of art and design creations all over the island, however the creations coexisted with traditional culture of the island in harmony.

   Setouchi International Art Festival has proved that art and design have profound influence on people. I think the festival is the one of the shapes of ideal relationship between art and design, and communal society as design activism.

References
・Art Setouchi (2013) [Internet]. Available from :<http://setouchi-artfest.jp> [Accessed 17 November 2013].

・Kitagawa. F, (2013) Evolution of Art, Tokyo: Bijyutsu shuppansha.

Reflection of Lecture3, 5. Design that Explores Cleaner/ Better Technologies

5. Design that Explores Cleaner/ Better Technologies

  Nowadays, there are many kinds of innovative technology that we did not expect 20 years ago. The technology has given a lot of impact on fashion and textile industry. 

　But I am a student, so I do not have actual opportunities to see and use the latest technology. I therefore want to research about what sort of new technology there is in fashion and textile industry, and discuss whether using the latest technology is more ethical and eco-friendly than using previous technology.

3D Print

3D print could be said representative of innovative technology.
Continuum Fashion is a design lab. and a brand to consider future fashion, and they have created interesting products using the latest 3D printer.

① D. Dress ( http://continuumfashion.com/D.php )

(Continuum Fashion, D.dress)

   In short, the "D" collection is actually a piece of software. The D.dress app lets you draw a dress, turns it into a 3D model, and exports a cutting pattern to make the real dress, sized to your measurements. A laser cutter or plotter cuts the pattern out of fabric, which is then sewn into the dress. All the designs are unified around the theme of the little black dress, and the triangulation used in the software. This allows basically everyone to create their own innovative dress design.

Continuum Ddress UI from Mary Huang on Vimeo.

②CONSTRVCT(http://continuumfashion.com/constrvct.php)

(Continuum Fashion, CONSTRVCT)

CONSTRVCT is an ongoing endeavor, where we hope to add features to expand the freedom of design that people can achieve. We are striving to enable a pivotal innovation in design process, where the design interface seamlessly links up to pattern-making and materials. And where anyone in the world can make a design, share it across the web, and that design can be downloaded and made at any point on the globe. 

(Continuum Fashion, CONSTRVCT)

③N12 (http://continuumfashion.com/N12.php)

(Continuum Fashion, N12)

The N12 is named after Nylon 12 (WSF), the material in which the bikini is 3D printed.  Nylon 12 makes an ideal swimsuit material as it is innately waterproof. As well as being the first 3D printed bikini, it is also the first bikini that actually becomes more comfortable when it gets wet. 

(Continuum Fashion, N12)

The N12 was designed using Rhino 3D CAD software and specially written algorithmic script to create the structure of the 3D printed fabric. The algorithm uses a complex 'circle packing' equation on an arbitrarily doubly curved surface (the bikini). The size of the circles responds to curvature and edge conditions of the form, creating smooth edges and a responsive pattern. 

(Continuum Fashion, N12)

④ Strvct Shoes (http://continuumfashion.com/shoes.php)

(Continuum Fashion, Strvct Shoes)

3D-printed shoe collection,"strvct", uses innovative materials to create fantasy-inspired designs. 

strvct refers to structure. With 3D printed nylon, delicate looking forms are actually incredibly strong while also being impossibly lightweight. Continuum Fashion present a triangulated spin on the classic wedge pump, which brings to mind Cinderella's glass slipper in its transparency. Expanding on this idea, they created a sandal with a 3D printed base and origami tyvek butterflies. 

The strvct shoes are wearable. They are lined with a patent leather inner sole, and coated with a synthetic rubber on the bottom to provide traction.

Shoes Created Using 3D Printer

(Continuum Fashion, Strvct Shoes)

Advantages & Ethical Problems of 3D Print 

 the reason why 3D print can be said more eco-friendly than previous technology

・3D printer is easy to make small-scale production. It means that 3D printer can                    produce necessary things only in the needed amount when needed without no waste.

・If there is a 3D printer, we do not always need to order a far factory to make products. And some large scale factories have minimum order,  but 3D printer does not require it. That is helpful for young designers who do not have a large amount of budget to create their design.

・Using 3D printer can reduce usage of water, electricity, and amount of dye compared to using present factories.  

  

  Personally, I think that 3D printing technology is not only affordable and cost effective because it reduces waste of water, electricity, and dye during the manufacturing process, it also cuts production time of complex parts dramatically by speeding up or eliminating completely the need for traditional molding and casting techniques. In this regard, using 3D printer could be said more eco-friendly than previous technology.

  However, there are some ethical concerns regarding using 3D printer that must be taken into account. The main problem that has the potential to arise is very similar to the problem that the entertainment industry currently is struggling with, copyright laws. 

  For example, in the future, after it is not uncommon for 3D printers to be in the average household. A conventional factory using old technology produces a product. People purchase that product, decide it is a good product, and come to the conclusion they want to have two of said product. Now people are faced with an ethical and legal dilemma. Do we simply scan and print another copy or do we go to the store and buy one? In fact, that is a very difficult question to answer. 

  I think that Engineers of 3D printer need to take a step back and analyze every aspect of a technology in order to assess what impact it will have on our world: ethical, environmental, economical, and social. Also people should have a full understanding of the implications of a technology before it emerges into the public. 

References
・Continuum Fashion, Internet]. Available from :<http://continuumfashion.com> [Accessed 10 November 2013].

・Lipson. H, Kurman. M (2013) Fabricated: The New World of 3D Printing, New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Reflection of Lecture2, 4. Design to Reduce Energy and Water Use

Adidas' DryDye Garment (http://www.adidas.com/com/goallin/news/2012/08/adidas-drydye)

  Dying process needs a significant amount of water and energy use. Adidas created the DryDye technology, which uses pressurized CO2 in place of water to dye t-shirts and other garments.

A typical t-shirt requires 25 liters (6.6 gallons) of water to dye and process. Water is often used as a solvent in pre-treatment and finishing processes such as washing, scouring, bleaching and dyeing. Each of those processes also uses chemicals. According to adidas the DryDye process uses no water; 50 percent less energy and 50 percent fewer chemicals.

To put water savings in perspective, adidas says in about two years the textile industry uses enough water to fill the Mediterranean Sea to dye clothing. In second quarter 2012 adidas produced 50,000 DryDye t-shirts to meet retailer demand. In that production run, adidas saved over 1,200,000 liters (317,000 gallons) of water. The company is working on using the DryDye process on other garments beyond t-shirts in the future.

References
・Adidas. (2013) INTRODUCING ADIDAS DRYDYE, [Internet]. Available from :<http://www.adidas.com/com/goallin/news/2012/08/adidas-drydye> [Accessed 28 October 2013].

Reflection of Seminar1

  I researched traditional Mexican handmade crafts for this project. In Mexico there are many kinds of interesting handmade crafts such as masks, ornaments, embroidery and so on.  
Mexico's artesania tradition is a blend of indigenous and European techniques and designs. This blending, called "Mestizo" was particularly emphasized by Mexico's political, intellectual and artistic elite in the early 20th century after the Mexican Revolution.

  I focused on a traditional ceramic handmade craft which is called "tree of life". Tree of life is a kind of traditional clay sculptures created in central Mexico.  These sculptures was originally for the teaching of the Biblical story of creation to natives in the early colonial period. Because of this, traditional these sculptures are supposed to consist of certain biblical images, Adam and Eve, but some recent tree of life sculptures have specific themes completely unrelated to the Bible.

                               

                                               


  A lot of images are included in tree of life like Adam and Eve, flowers, animals, and humans. The Color used in tree of life is very vivid and colorful that I can feel Mexican culture. I'm really interested in the color and the images included in tree of life. I think I would like to express the inspiring colors and 3D structure of tree of life using  knitting techniques.

          

How to apply my creations to sustainable cycle?

(working sheet from seminar1)

① Raw Material

natural fiber ( wool, cotton, silk, linen,…..)

② Manufacture

making yarn, dying yarn, and knitting the yarn to make creations (fabric)

③ Distribution

×

④ Use

selling creations, or exhibiting creations (fabric)

⑤ End of Life

cutting fabric to return fiber condition