Modular fashion bag¶
| Path | Target | Duration | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | 18-25 | 1 week | open source, pattern making, laser cutting |
Introduction and context¶
Abstract
Modular fashion is a workshop of laser cutting and fashion. The participants draw, model and laser cut pieces to be assembled without sewing. Using felt or leather, the pieces are used to manufacture a bag.
Intro
The workshop is organised over 1 week if addressed to designers to give them enough time for prototyping and experimenting. However it can be reduced to a full day workshop if the organisers prepare in advance the pieces to be cut and assembled.
The duration of the complete activity is 20 hours that doesn’t include a general presentation of fashion and new technologies, evaluation, documentation and presentation.
The ideal number of participants is 10, working in pairs, for a total of 5 groups. Two instructors are needed, one who knows how to use a laser cutter and modular fashion, another who knows the basics criteria to make a bag.
Objectives
- Concept development
- Design: sketches, prototypes, material choices, tests, 2D vector design software
- Fabrication: laser cutting, workflow, assembling, material used and leftovers
- Final outcome: is the project assembled, functioning and complete
- Aesthetics: Has the design been thought through and elaborate
- Documentation
Target audience and context of use
Our target audience were 2nd year Fashion University students who participated in a 1 week bootcamp about fashion and new technologies. However this activity can be adapted to any students with basic knowledge of 2D modeling.
Preparation and materials¶
- Prepare a room with a beamer and big tables for collaborative work.
- Make sure the laser cutter is available and functional for the whole duration of the activity.
- Prepare pieces to better illustrate how they shall be correctly designed to be assembled.
- Prepare a bag to show the participants a finalised example.
- Prepare a presentation with images from designers for inspiration.
- Prepare slides that illustrate several kinds of shapes that work well for modular fashion.
Day 1: Prepare tables with :
- Paper
- Scissors
- Pencils
Day 2: Prepare tables with :
- Test material to be laser cut (typically thin felt)
- Material to be used for the bag (felt with different thickness and colors, leather, etc)
Proposed Schedule Schedule: 9:30 am -1:00 pm and 2:00pm – 5:30 pm: 45 Hours in total
Specifically the modular fashion agenda:
Equipment, Tools and Materials
- Laser cutter
- Beamer
- Room and tables
- Paper
- Rulers
- Scissors
- Pencils
- Thin felt for tests
- Thick felt for the bags
- Leather, lamb skin
- Inkscape or an equivalent software for 2d modeling and vectoriel drawing.
Step by Step Instructions¶
STEP BY STEP overview
- Draw a simple shape
- Add the interlock (internal or external)
- Cut several tiles to check if the interlocking system work properly
- Repeat and improve your design
- Use a 2D modeling software to draw the tile
- Useful tools to use are : transform, boolean operators, group and ungroup
- Export the vectorial drawing to be used by the machine
- Laser cut 4-5 tiles on a test material and check the interlocking
- If all works well, use the final material. If not, modify the drawing and iterate
- Laser cut 4-5 tiles on the final material
- If all works well, cut all the other tiles. If not, modify the drawing and iterate.
- Assemble the pieces following your design
Safety rules & Tips
During the Modular Fashion, participants need to respect the security measure of the laser cutter.
Flyer for participants
Estimated cost
Always consider to find local providers - BOM of materials
| Item | Quantity | Cost (€) | Link to vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper | 50 | 3 | Local store |
| Pencils | 10 | 5 | Local store |
| Scissors | 10 | 30 | Local store |
| Thin paper felt | 5x1m | 20 | www.opitec.ch |
| 2-3 mm thickness Colored pure wool felt | 2x1mx5colors | 200 | www.ariadne-shop.ch |
| Naturally tanned leather | 2x1m | 50 | www.decocuir.com |
Evaluation Criteria
The students were graded by their tutor and by the Lab. There were only two grades passed and failed. This grading system was decided by the tutor of la HEAD. There is ECTS but each university, each course and each module is different. In this case this week was part of the module Fashion and New technologies week and the student needed to do at least 30 hours which represent 1 credit.
Additionally we used zine as a form of evaluation of each day. We gave them a presentation:
Tips to facilitate the activity in context (to-do / not do)¶
To do: - Let enough time to students to make research, to prototype and ameliorate the bag - Train them to use the laser cutter to become more autonomous - Show them physical examples of an assembled bag - Show them an example of the zine - Be strict about timing (e.g. 3 hours for paper prototypes, etc…) - Take plenty of photos during the process
Not to do: - Let them progress too much on a shape that is not modular - Let them make a bag that is esthetically nice but not functional
Evaluation Criteria
The students were graded by their tutor and by the Lab. There were only two grades passed and failed. This grading system was decided by the tutor of la HEAD. There is ECTS but each university, each course and each module is different. In this case this week was part of the module Fashion and New technologies week and the student needed to do at least 30 hours which represent 1 credit.
Additionally we used zine as a form of evaluation of each day. We gave them a presentation:
References¶
Links to photos and recorded materials
Al Corso di formazione Out Of Fashion arriva Moda Modulare Modular Fashion
Licence and credits¶
Attribution — ShareAlike CC BY-SA This activity has been designed by Cristina Olivotto from Onl’fait for shemakes.eu. It is based on the Open Source Modular Fashion of the Fabricademy course by Zoe Romano.
Related and supporting activities/modules
It can be combined with the other topics of Topic/skills, part of the OS Circular Fashion of the Sustainability Package .