Iron Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design · 2022
Are We Womenswear Collection
by Jasmine Au
- A' Design Award 2022 Iron Winner in Fashion, Apparel and Garment Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- CLIENT: Ja-Jmi
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 25,486
- Verification code 5D96BAAA67 · Verify this award
About Are We Womenswear Collection
Are We is a womenswear collection created to raise awareness of the damage caused by humans to the marine world. The design highlights the beauty of coral systems and ocean waves. Lightweight silky organza is used in multiple layers to form flowing flares over a soft netting base. Each coral-like ornament is handcrafted and hand-stitched one by one, and the main garment carries about 300 of these details. Loose silhouettes and layered attachments give the collection a soft and full movement. The intent is to encourage people to protect the ocean.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- ARE WE is a collection to create awareness on the damages made by human towards the marine world and inspired through an article, highlighted a past experiment, Biosphere2 failed due to eco-balance and proved impossible to build an EARTH. Designs highlighted on the beauty of nature with the blending of coral system and wave onto garment. Each handmade coral structured detail is originally created through development. The masterpiece has about 300 pieces of detailed handmade coral attached.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Ready-to-wear garment with fully lightweight fabric, including silk-textured shinny fabric, gradient coloured organza and soft netting fabric. Main silhouettes drafted with loose fit and layering attachment applied as well as hand-crafted detailing.
- Tags
- Ocean, 0712, Mini Collection, Love Ocean, Save the Planet, Marine World, Sea Life, Flow, Movement
- Production Technology
- Made of lightweight silky organza to create the flow flares with the multiple layering inserted. Layers attached with neat workmanship and gentle handling on soft base netting. The hand-crafted coral-like ornament is innovated and transform from hardness to softness creations. With the detailed handcrafting, ornaments was hand-stitched one by one.
- Design Challenge
- A past biological experiment that strongly reflecting that human impossible to build 2nd earth. Designer then blended a link to nature, highlight that ocean as the great contributors of oxygen to the planet and coral reef recorded as the largest habitat for smaller marine living organism to live. With abstraction of finding and developing elements enriched the ideas and stimulated new creation of coral-inspired ornament in detail handcrafted.
- Project Duration
- The project (Mini Collection Module, Raffles University) started at May 2021 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and finished in August 2021. It is presented as the fashion showcase of Raffles Student through Facebook live.
- Operation Flow
- Designer decided to highlight on the beauty of nature instead of keep telling people their mistakes. Realising the beauty will make people more willing to accept the current pollution that had been made by themselves and as a reminder to protect and save the planet. The ideas of highlights marine as the main focus point as it build the majority of planet area and contributed as the oxygen generators to most of the organisms which would known as valued contributors and coral reef act as the habitat for most of the smaller sized organism in the sea.
- Research
- The use of WabiSabi to reflect the sense of naturally imperfection. Andres Juniper said that, If an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be WabiSabi. In design, the concept of Wabi Sabi can also be adopted, By slowing down our design processes and embracing the incomplete and imperfection which able to achieve entirely new level of beauty. The garment carry more meaning as they are unique and share a story as well as invite customers to add to that story.
- Inspiration
- Are We, by questioning ourselves, are the most intelligent group, HUMAN, the actual pest to this planet. With the initial researched on Biosphere2, a past experiment, American Earth System science research facility. It announced the failure due to the loss control of eco-balance within the enclosed ecological system which aimed to build a second Earth. Designer link it with marine world to reflect, intelligence is to protect not destroy, through the highlights on its beauty and contribution.
- Image Credits
- Main Image: Photographer Katharine Chai, Hug the Ocean, 2021.
Optional Image #1: Photographer Katharine Chai, Hug the Ocean, 2021.
Optional Image #2: Photographer Katharine Chai, Wave Hug, 2021.
Optional Image #3: Photographer Katharine Chai, Coral in the Wave, 2021.
Optional Image #4: Photographer Katharine Chai, Feel the Coral and Wave, 2021.
Colors of Are We Womenswear Collection
Design Interview about Are We Womenswear Collection
The initial inspiration come from a video that talk about the biology experiment called Biosphere 2, which is an American biology research to investigate on building a second earth. But the experiment failed due to imbalance of ecosystem which mainly due to exist of human. So, from here, I started to feel that are human become the actual "pest" that caused the Mother Earth sicks, struggling on building second earth at the same time..That's why, this collection named as ARE WE? kind of questioning ourselves as a reminder on our mistakes.
I wish to achieve an awareness towards environment issues and let more people knowing that our Mother Earth used to be as beautiful as we now trying to achieve... Currently, people started to focus on sustainability to "save the earth", to return the nature but it used to be as what we wish for.
I hope to use my achievement as a creative evidence for my future career, building my own label which could move towards sustainable fashion brand that make it a part of "moving green".
I designed this collection with lot of researching and sketching over 150+ looks. it takes me a month to finalised the final 8 looks and 4 out of 8 picked to turn into physical pieces. I then took another 2 months to draft and drape, toiling as well as actual pieces productions under the guidance of my lecturer, Ms. Jennifer Kong.
A sense of apologises to the Mother Earth. I suddenly filled with sadness after watching the video of "BIOSPHERE 2" and a short video that show how nature come back and animals start to visit human world during the lockdown period of pandemic. It then makes me wanting to voice up my sadness to nature and highlights how beauty is the Mother Earth.
No. I planned to make this collection as my brand, limited edition collection that used to raise awareness only, not for sale. As I also planned to create those meaningful and awareness based collection as a presentation of designer creativity and for competition entries also. It will be separated from designed retail collection as it will only for awareness campaign usage, plus with only piece produced each look.
I hope to make fashion part of building betterment to the society.
Yohji Yamamoto. I love the way he expresses design with such a highly tailored pieces and presentation.
Most of the "environment saver" concept of collection tend to show up the sadness or down mood of destroyed earth, but I decided to show up the positive and beauty of nature to recall human's memory on the past beauty of Mother Earth. It is also kind of reminding ourselves how does those mistake caused the lost of nature beauty.
It is a question mark given to question human, are we the actual pest to the earth who keep saying wanting to save the earth but who made the mistake at first.
Illustrator and Photoshop for portfolio and designing paper & sheets.
The beauty of marine world could be the signature of this collection with the unique creation of "coral-like" netting ball decorated by hand stitching one by one and shapes is originally developed by myself.
no. I discovered by my own "coral-like" layered and folded hand made ball that designed as the overall mail decorations of each looks.
The development of producing "coral-like" ornaments are quite challenging as coral is hard structured, but I want to transform it into softer but remaining its structures.
Recommended by my lecturer, Ms. Jennifer Kong.
The most learned things are researching. It is important to make the collection much more meaningful and enrich the content and design flow to come out a unique piece.