Year 3000 (Y3K) Collection
Introduction
As a child, I loved watching movies. But rather than obsessing over plot lines, my favorite part was the character's outfits. Dystopians especially excited me. I loved noticing the special effects or specific details and accessories added to immerse the characters into the fabricated reality.
One specific trend I noticed was the characterization of futuristic movies. The "future" heavily relied on technology and was pictured as a cyber space with hovering cars or robots controlling the cities. The fashion was similar to the environment: humanoid animatronic body parts with silver plating contrasted the vibrant and shiny fabric used for clothing. While every movie was different, they all resembled the same basic idea.
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As a designer, I was inspired by these visions. I wanted to depict my own futuristic reality. Furthermore, this genre urged designers to play around with mixed mediums and atypical shapes. The future rest upon innovation and I loved the idea of creating a new purpose, creating a new function from existing materials. In the same sense, my collection is made entirely out of tape and wire, materials that would have never been thought of as clothing.
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Welcome to my revisioning of the future. Welcome to "Year 3000".​​
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Collection Pieces
This collection featured 5 dresses made entirely of packaging tape and duct tape. Accessories are made of wire, duct tape, and stick on pearls.
This floor length dress was the first made. The inspiration stemmed from the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.
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Fahrenheit 451 is a famous classic novel that take place in the future. In their futuristic reality, technology has a large role. citizen's houses are made up of walls that are TV screens and often have characters visit each other through the screens. Furthermore, the unsettling nature of the plot resides in the idea that books are banned in this future. The city forbids citizens from reading and it is the one only rule that is strictly enforced. Firefighters challenge their typical roles and start fires to burn down houses if their is suspicions that someone has books.
Overall, the book is written with such immersive imagery that I could feel the heat of the crimson red flames. The vivid imagery inspired me to craft a dress that was a striking red color and had a structure that resembles the beautiful shape of the flames.
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The bodice of the dress is fitted and curved while the bottom is jagged and filled with triangle, conveying the shape of fire. The silver detailing helps accent and outline the shape of the flame like design.
This violet dress was the second one made. My one goal for this dress was to choose a rich color similar to the scarlet dress.
Following the same techniques, I opted to play around and create a mini dress. The length of this dress is especially important since the dress is fited for a long torso and legs. Since technology and robots are perfect, emphasizing longer and almost impossible body proportions adds to the theme and characterizes the model.
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Another feature on this dress are the side cut outs. These cutouts are jagged and spaced out on each side of the dress. From the front and the back, the dress almost imitates a skeleton's ribs. This exposed "rib cage" can be seen in many futuristic movies or concepts. Typically the ribs have been replaced with metal and technology to showcase societal advancements. Designing a vivid violet mini dress fit with cutouts, ruffles, and split sleeves bring san aspect of the future to reality.
This was the next dress made. To included more variation between my designs, I opted for a two piece. I also wanted a big skirt with many layers but didn't want the whole design to look too out of place with the others. So to balance out the skirt, I kept the top simple.
The skirt has 3 layers of ruffles, built with the same triangular technique to give it structure. The top has two simple cut outs and creates a v on the waist. An added benefit of a two piece is that the parts are interchangeable, meaning I could swap the top or the skirt out with another piece or the skirt can be used to layer on top of another dress.
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Finally, the color navy does not typically strike people as a vibrant color and at first may look out of place. But I believe it actually adds depth to the collection. The color navy is a deep blue that is very rich in color. This richness and darkness is what caught my eye and signals a never ending journey. This deep navy color can also be referred to as midnight blue or deep see blue and both the sky and the deep ocean are mostly unexplored, constituting an unsettling and curious feeling. This feeling is very similar to the dystopian futures that are filled with innovation and citizens are not sure what will happen next.
Another floor length dress, I wanted to play around with asymmetric detailing. Most the other dresses in this collection had either symmetrical detailing or a symmetrical shape. By making an asymmetrical dress still look cohesive, it illustrates how the future is able to create perfection.
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I built the skirt to have two panels so it is easier to walk and wrapped the bodice around the waist to create a cascade effect. Furthermore, silver detailing also serves to balance out the shape of the dress and instill a layer of celestial elegance that the shape of the dress also conveys.
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This light azure blue is vibrant and reminiscent of the day time sky, allowing it to fit in with the theme and contrast the midnight abyss dress.
This is the last dress in the collection. As for the inspiration, I wanted the dress to round off the collection and make it feel complete. I believe choosing this aquamarine color played a large role in balancing out the color palate of the collection. The scarlet, violet, and midnight blue all were very rich, deep yet vibrant, and warm toned. The azure blue was a lighter, more airy, vivid, and cool toned. I also wanted to add a green tint to the collection so this aquamarine was perfect.
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Furthermore, a shorter dress also help balance out the two floor length dresses and made the collection more playful. If I had made another floor length dress I felt like it would have been overwhelming and made the collection more serious.
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The actual shape of the dress similar to the violet echo dress because of the ruffles at the bottom but this dress differs from the others in the sense that it has an off the shoulder element. The off the shoulder add variation in the collections and also fits the theme.
Process
1. Inspiration/mood board
All inspo photos from Pinterest
2. Sketches
3. Planning
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The first depiction of any collection starts on paper.
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Each of my dresses were brainstormed through multiple sketches until I settled on one that I loved.
The next step is figuring out how to bring sketches to life, transforming 2D to 3D.
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I decided to create a base layer with packaging tape that was fitted to the shape of the dress form rather than pattern drafting because this way the measurements were more exact and the dress was more sturdy with one panel rather than multiple that could break at the seams.
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Then I added on the color and the detailing on top of the base layer.
4. Base layer taping
To create the structure of the dress, I taped clear packaging tape, sticky side up, to fit it to the shape of the dress form. Then wrapping around again, sticky side down, to secure the base layer
5. Shaping/Cutting
Then using a marker, I drew out the shape of the dress, including cut outs. I then cut out the negative space and making sure to fix the design or add more layers of tape for more structure.
6. Duct tape overlay
Finally with the base completed, I took rolls of duct tape and tape around the clear packaging tape to make a uniform solid surface.
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7. Detailing
With the finished colored base, all that is felt is detailing. Cutting small strips of silver tape, I lined the edges and creases of the dress to emphasize the structure. And then even skinner strips were used to lay patterns and celestial designs to contrast the colorful base.
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8. Accessoires
Accessories are the final element that completes the collection. I used wire to structure sleeve that were 3d in order to resemble the metal body parts seen in movies. Furthermore, wire face frames and pearls were also used to decorate the skin and bring together an almost alien like mood.
Ohio State University Knowlton Fashion Schau Competition
March-April 2024
Servitecture is a student run club from the Knowlton School of Architect.
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Each year, the club hosts a completion where students can compete and create a fashion collection according to the theme.
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Spring of 2024, the theme was alter ego. This theme encouraged designers to step out of their comfort and create garments out of unconventional materials other than fabric.
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Year 3000 won first place and people's choice.
Because architecture is centered around shapes and students make models out of various materials, the competition was filled with beautiful and innovated designs composed of unique structures and vibrant colors.​
My entry was titled Year 3000 collection and I defined my alter ego as this dystopian portrayal of reality. One that is not yet real but has a role in many movies and si-fi worlds.
Read this article written by Scarlette magazines to learn more about the schau and my design.
Ohio State Fair
June - August 2024
The Ohio State Fair is a popular annual summer state fair. It averages 1 mil+ visitors each year and these visitors travel from all over Ohio or other states. Other than the fair's rides, food, and animals, art competition is another large focus. With hundreds of categories, artist from middle schools to professionals compete. During the fair the entires are on display in a museum type of format where fair attendees can admire.
As a designer, I entered my midnight blue draw into the fashion and sewing division under the special occasions class.
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My design won on first place.