I started thinking about the amount of destruction that would occur in an apocalyptic situation, amount of remaining areas of the country and artefacts still in tact and how this would cause various items to become essentials in order to survive. I began by identifying possibilities for what these items might be and started to look into storage solutions for people’s possessions and utensils for day-to-day that would maintain a level of compact living.
On researching into this, I discovered that many artists and designers had also had similar ideas in producing the most efficient method of storage, such as Michael Johansson and Joseph Joseph: a large kitchenware company.
This led me to contemplate other methods of storage and consider the need for items to be made easily transportable in order to maintain survival.
Flash floods, caused by the extreme effects of global warming, bring devastation to areas across the country. Fields of crops become waterlogged and unusable; which reduces the amount of harvested food available. Shops and houses are destroyed and the remains of people’s personal possessions and belongings are scattered amongst the debris. The reduced amount of remaining land and resources becomes sought after and recyclable materials that can be found and collected, become essentials in day-to-day living and survival in the new order of the world. New items of water-resistant, protective clothing become fundamental. The lack of modern manufacturing processes forces homemade and primitive production methods to be put into practice, as people fashion garments out of recycled materials to preserve their dignity and maintain a social decorum in the new world.
I began researching into films featuring apocalyptic themes. I then used a selection of the sourced imagery as a stimulus and extracted key aspects from the clothing that I could integrate into my own designs.
Clothing is worn to both preserve dignity and for protection. The various elements I have extracted and plan to consider are the durability of the chosen material to safeguard the body, allowance for movement through flexibility or divisions, coverage, construction methods based on resources and additional components, such as pockets, etc.
Armour is used to protect the body from unwanted damage. Lamellar, chain mail and plates were the three earliest forms of body armour.
Lamellar is made from pieces of leather that have been sewn together to form a covering for the body. Chain mail was an evolution of lamellar, which consisted of a series of linked, heavy, metal rings. Metal plates were added to chain mail to protect specific vulnerable areas and this developed into plate armour with the Romans and even further into a full body suit in the Gothic era.
I intend to integrate elements of strong protective panels into my design as this will support and preserve the body from unwanted harm.
After looking at a selection of artists who have created work from recycled materials, such as Wayne Hemingway; the original founder of Red or Dead clothing; Jane Lawrence, Susan Stockwell, Lira Leirner, etc. Of these artists/designers I have been most influenced by the work of Gary Harvey and Jolis Paons.
Not only the use of materials but the methods of manipulation used are stimulating and by using very simple methods they have created rather diverse effects. I plan to use an amalgamation of these ideas to manipulate my own materials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olL5_Ly5sRs&feature=player_embedded#!
During my research I came across this video and I found it really inspiring. It has made me consider using a wider range of objects and think about ways I can unique ways I can incorporate them.
Whilst researching I was reminded of a couple of pieces of work featured in an exhibition I visited a couple of years ago.
http://www.eskimodesign.org/hello/?p=125
These pieces show how numerous versions of the same item can be attached together to take on a new form. I may plan to develop this technique into my own work.
Many power lines run alongside rivers and most nuclear power stations are positioned near the coast, therefore flash floods would cause a lot of damage to the electricity supply and so the use of electrical devices would be restricted. In addition, most electrical devices would become water damaged, so, even if a source of electricity could be obtained. the item would have only a small chance of working. This means that only primitive methods of construction would be feasible.
In a post-apocalyptic situation a lot of people are going to be set back from all the technological advancements and will have to revert back to primitive methods. I have decided to investigate into tribal clothing which would have used basic construction and decorative techniques.
Along with hand sewing I find the popular idea; originally used in both Native American Indian and Aboriginal tribes; of piercing and lacing material together intriguing as this original method is not only functional but also decorative. In addition, there was one particular Native American Indian, decorative technique which I found interesting and felt would be useful to integrate into the cuffs of my clothing and that is Peyote. This stitch is commonly associated with beadwork and has been developed over the years but still remains very popular now. In a post-apocalyptic world one would need to utilise knowledge gained from researching the basic manufacturing techniques of historical and cultural contexts. The manufacture of garments would reflect the influence of primitive tribal technologies but with the added advantage of utilising modern, technological advancement of material development.
I have brainstormed ideas for different items of clothing using suitable, recycled materials and incorporating a variety of practical functions into the designs.
I have assessed the practicality and appropriateness of my designs of jacket, trousers and headgear and selected some of the best aspects from certain ideas and incorporated them together in order to come up with my chosen design.
Carrying a lot of heavy items around all day can often become very tiring, so I have tried to spread out where the body strength is used to carry items to maintain people’s stamina. This has inspired me to design a piece of headgear to be used as a method for transporting items, as people’s head and shoulders can support a lot of weight; examples of this are commonly seen amongst Africans and builders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV-iP1jSMlI
The material used to make the outfit from (shower curtain) frays easily and, because of the lack of electrical devices available, the use of overlockers would be unfeasible. After researching into alternative techniques, which could be used to achieve the same effect, I have come across hemming and french seams. French seams can easily be achieved by hand sewing and leave the garment with a neat finished edge.
To allow the headgear to be able to blend into the urban environment more, I have made it multifunctional so that it can also be transformed into a bag. Through carefully planning the location of where the straps, which tie the headgear onto the head, should be attached, by simply undoing the ‘scarf’ and re-tying it high above the lid, the headgear can then be carried over one shoulder as a bag.
The increase in temperature causing an accelerated effect of global warming and creating a rise in sea level and extreme flash-flooding will have a large impact on the climate and the animals living within it. Although, due to location, some animals could become nearly extinct from the effects of the floods, some creatures, such as midges, will rapidly increase in number. Midges are attracted to damp, flooded areas which is why they are commonly seen in fenland areas. Mass floods will cause a surge in midges and the loss of land will bring the insects further inland. To combat this problem I have built a net which is attached to the base of the headgear. This can be lowered over the face in order to protect it from being bitten.
Here is a list of found materials used to create the outfit:
- Shower curtain – water resistant material used as the main fabric of jacket, trousers and headgear/bag and used for additional decorative elements to help to blend into the urban environment
- Eyelets – (From shower curtain) used to string the pockets to the trousers so they can be wrapped around the front or back of the leg for ease of movement
- Dish Cloths – sewn together to form an internal thermal lining
- String – Draw string in waistband, ties to hold pockets on trousers in place around the front/back of leg, attach protective guards to the body
- Velcro – used to secure the contents of the pockets, attach storage boxes/protective panels onto the inside of the jacket, fastening on jacket
- Plastic bowls – main structure of headgear/bag
- Nuts and bolts – used to attach the two bowls together
- Sponges – Padding on the inside of the bottom bowl for comfort and added protection when worn as headgear
- Rubberised placemats – used to form the lid of the headgear/bag
- Pizza bases – used in between the rubberised placemats to add strength and stability to the lid of the headgear/bag
- Shower curtain hooks – used to hinge the lid on the headgear/bag
- Plastic tubing – used as a protective seal around the edge of the lid on the headgear/bag
- Netting – used to protect the face against vast increase of midges attracted from the flood water
- Silicone ice cube trays – used to form attachable protective guards
- Bedroom drawer fabric inserts – used as padding/protection in the back of the jacket and as scavenging/storage boxes
- Thread – used to hand sew materials in place
- Glue – used to attach materials together
I have decided to present the outfit on a mannequin as devices such as cameras would be destroyed in the floods and wouldn’t be an essential item for people to keep on them so in a post apocalyptic situation the outfit would only be seen by being viewed in person. Also, by using a mannequin it immediately presents how the outfit would be worn.
Art & Design 