Sense Move 舞蹈服裝 by Zhulin Shi is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award 銀獎 in 時裝、服飾及成衣設計 Competition Category.

銀時裝· 2020

Sense Move 舞蹈服裝

by Zhulin Shi

Client: Last Lab Inc.

A' Design Award 銀獎 Winner in 時裝 Category

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Verified Award Winner
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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Sense Move 舞蹈服裝

Sense Move係一款為舞者而設嘅發光服裝。服裝會摺疊成幾何形狀，隨住身體嘅郁動而變化，喺舞台上形成一件動態雕塑。燈光效果表達住不斷變化嘅情緒。慢慢淡出代表呼吸，閃爍就代表興奮。服裝亦包含一隻感應手套。當觀眾觸碰舞者嘅手時，燈光就會隨住觸碰而作出反應。呢個設計旨在加強表演者同觀眾之間嘅情感連繫。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銀獎

Sense Move 舞蹈服裝是 A' Design Award 銀獎得主，這是授予頂級、華美而令人印象深刻的設計的極為崇高的認可。銀獎得主是極其卓越、極具創造力的作品，展現出其設計師傑出的專業技能、才華與敏銳。預計Sense Move 舞蹈服裝將成為一件出色的典範之作，兼具非凡的專業性與深刻的創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銀獎的設計是一項備受矚目、令人欽佩的發明，造福並拓展藝術、科學、設計和技術的界限。Sense Move 舞蹈服裝是一件令人羨慕的創作，它喚起渴望，帶來積極的情感，並激發驚嘆與讚嘆。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Sense Move costume communicates emotionally through the body movements of the dancers. The different light effects express the costume’s emotions; for instance, a slow fade is breathing, and a flash conveys excitement. It not only presents dynamic forms like a Kinetic 3D Sculpture, but also enable musicians and performers to improve their performance and enhances people’s experience of performances and expands the boundaries of the performance industry.
Dimensions & Packaging: Width 70mm x Depth 30mm x Height 150mm
Tags: wearable technology, led lighting costume, kinetic sculpture
Production Technology: In the process of prototyping, sketching, draping, cutting sewing, sewing, soldering and programming have been applied.
Design Challenge: The challenge part is finding the form and concept for the costume design. I did many prototypes in different material and explore the movement part can create imaginary space to inspire dancer and grab people's eyes.
Research: I love dancing. I started dancing from 5 years old. The costumes like Cinderella’s dress gave me confidence on the stage. In 2007, I studied contact improvisation in UC Davis with famous choreographer Nita Little. With the experience in dancing and choreography, I started to ask myself how can costume further link emotional experience to our mind. Nita Little wrote “the ‘mountain’ moves and the ‘cloud’ changes as a result. Notice how our attention travels across surfaces while your awareness may slip into the volumes they contain.” A common thread was found in my research, which is costumes can make a connection between movement, imagination and emotion.
I attempted to design costumes that serves the bi-lateral relationship between Poetic Design and the Pattern Language of Dance.
Inspiration: With the experience in dancing and choreography, I started to ask myself how can costume further link emotional experience to our mind. Since that, I interviewed with a famous choreographer and dance artist – Yin Mei, whose wise words “I can create an architecture space using my joints, which is already telling a story” sparked my inspiration. My initial concept is about geometrical folding following along with the kinetic movement of the body.
Project Duration: The project original started in May 2016 for my MID thesis at Pratt. Sense Move costume has been applied and displayed in experimental workshops and a chamber opera in NYC. In 2016, I launched the “Sense Move” workshop featuring the renowned dancer and choreographer Yin Mei and violinist Wang Xiaotong in NYC. Since then, I and a collaborating guest artist Clarice Assad were invited to teach the experimental “Sense & Sound” workshop at the New Musical Instrument Hackathon 2016 at the Spotify headquarters in NYC. In 2018, I redesigned “Sense Move” Costume for a multimedia opera – Semulacrum.
Operation Flow: The different light effects express the costume’s emotions; for instance, a slow fade is breathing, and a flash conveys excitement. It not only presents dynamic forms like a Kinetic 3D Sculpture, but also creates new geometric space for the dancers. I designed “Sense” glove as a part of “Kinetic Sculpture” Costume. When a member of the audience touches the hand of a dancer who is wearing the costume, the light changes by sensing the touch as if the costume was alive. This will enhance the emotional transmission between the dancer and the audience, and even engage the audience to participant into the contact improvisation.
Image Credits: Image #1: Photographer Bengrong Zhu, Model Evita Zacharioglou
Image #2: Photographer Bengrong Zhu, Model Evita Zacharioglou
Image #3: Photographer Bengrong Zhu, Model Evita Zacharioglou
Image #4: Photographer Bengrong Zhu, Model Evita Zacharioglou
Image #5: Photographer Bengrong Zhu, Model Evita Zacharioglou