Trancelucent
Personal Project. Bachelor of Fashion (Design) (Honours) Project, Melbourne, Australia.
Trancelucent was derived from the poetic narrations in The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. A story about a man who, long story short, found stillness and isolation in the midst of his suddenly-turned crowded, bizarre life. In that state, he travelled and created his own in his mind, then came back to his reality seeing everything in a new light.
“The darkness behind my closed eyelids was like the cloud-covered sky, but the grey was some- what deeper. Every few minutes, someone would come and paint over the grey with different textured grey ... human beings were so strange. All you have to do was sit still for ten minutes, and you could see this amazing variety of greys.” (The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami)
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The project explored the idea of how a sense of tranquillity, self-immersion and meditative state lead to an active and clear mind, manifesting vivid extensions of one’s physical life. Garments were seen as wearable objects that acted as extensions of the body, translated into a series of asymmetrical, abstract shapes that ‘float’ around it.
Through draping, anchoring points of the body is used to place the garments on. Undulating stiff forms were created through bonding parts of silk satin with layers of heavy cotton moleskin, whilst the rest of the silk moves autonomously from the body. These wearable shapes are attached by stud fasteners to fitted layers of translucent basics made of self-poured powdered liquid silicone, in slightly distorted fit, creating varieties in opacity. These pieces acted as a ‘second skin’ that holds all the silk garments on the body. Each of these article is of a single pattern piece, using the method of subtraction cutting and displaced geometry, creating movement and stillness in the same piece of material seamlessly.
The projects were disseminated through a series of installations, films and editorials with intentions to create a sensorial experience through sight, sound and touch, where in each presentation, the garments are interpreted differently every time.
These interpretations include looking at the garments as objects, highlighting the materiality, which are presented in still life photography and in an installation with silicone pattern pieces suspended from the ceiling.
The project was also presented in runway forms at London Graduate Fashion Week in 2015 & Melbourne Spring Fashion Week in 2014.
Trancelucent was a completely personal project, an expression of a personal practice; embracing slow processes, exploring the ideas of challenging existing norms of garment types, challenging known materials to be seen in a new light and capturing the intangibles through a tangible wares.
All the garments are handmade and developed by yours truly in the span of 2014-2015.
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Credits:
Editorial 1. Photographer: Nadeemy Betros, Stylist: Stuart Walford, Model: Rowena Xi Kang, Chadwick Models
Editorial 2. Photographer: Jasmine Maher, Stylist: Jamie-maree Shipton, Model: Duckie Thot, Tess Management
Editorial 3. Photographer: Thy Tran, Model: Stephanie Walravens & Ella Sowinska
Still Life Editorial. Photograher: Nadine Maulida
Citations:
Murakami, H. (1996). The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle 1st (first) edition Text Only. Knopf.
Samsonite International Catwalk Autumn/Winter 2015 Ready-To-Wear Collection. (2015). [Photograph]. https://www.vogue.co.uk/shows/autumn-winter-2015-ready-to-wear/samsonite-international-catwalk-competition/collection
Dawson, L. D. (2014). Melbourne 2014 Spring Fashion Week Emerging Designer Runway [Photographs]. http://www.lucasdawson.com.au/gallery/index.php?/category/828
Style Melbourne. (2014, September 8). Emerging Runway 2 Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2014 [Photographs]. https://stylemelbourne.com/2014/09/emerging-runway-2-melbourne-spring-fashion-week-2014/