From The Inside Out Bags by Xiutao Fu |
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| DESIGN DETAILS | |||||
| DESIGN NAME: From The Inside Out PRIMARY FUNCTION: Bags INSPIRATION: It is a significant trend in luxury industry that wealthy consumers are now asking for logo-free pieces to disguise their luxury purchase. The focus is shifting from dressing for others (external) to pleasing yourself (internal): new luxury should come from the inside out: comes from the rich inner world. The exterior shape of bag comes from the old luxury purse while the rich texture inside comes from the Cabbage with symbolism of wealth in Chinese culture. UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The goal of this design is to step out of the usual bag design, which adjust the trend of new luxury. Although the exterior of a bag is undeniably important as one’s fashionable face, the dark recessive interior is equally potent or even more meaningful. Thus, the project presents a new breed of luxury bag that focus on the interior texture/design. The texture is not only decorative but also be protective for the valued objects which could present personal experience or express users themselves. OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: - PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project started in September 2015 in London and finished in December 2016 in London. |
PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: Not only the research bases on the contemporary context, but also the studio practice and material could be the reflection. Materials I used in this bags are: leather (lamb leather and veg tan leather), TPU (thermoplastic polyurethanes), clear resin, lime wood (Tilia vulgaris) and cord. The techniques I used is 3D Print, clay sculpture, moulding, casting, leather gluing, dying, hand stitching, knotting and CNC Milling. SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: 120 mm x 120 mm x 85 mm TAGS: Bag, New luxury, Symbolism, interior texture, Chinese culture, Inro, 3D print, handcraft RESEARCH ABSTRACT: Leading class used symbols and objects to set them apart from the rest of society. Therefore, it is accepted that socialisation and luxury go hand-in-hand. Even though the consumption capability of ultra rich dose not depress after financial crisis, they do not want to be seen as consuming luxury and show their wealth so conspicuously. Several luxury retailers were asked to offer plain packaging or ship in unmarked boxes. It is clearly to see that consumer values are shifting and they prefer to shell out for unique, hard-to find pieces instead of uniform status symbols. There are two main reasons result in the shifting. Firstly, the luxury shoppers become secret shoppers because of public pressure of income inequality. they would be guilty to carry a purse that practically announces its four-figure price tag. Secondly, wealthy consumers are no longer purchase luxury for logo, because the logo of Louis Vuitton, Prada and Gucci is everywhere. However, value comes from scarcity. The popularity of luxury handbags would sacrifice some of the brand’s desirability. Spread the brand too overly so that the brand risk devaluing itself. The shifting consumer values lead to a changing definition of luxury. New luxury is not based on the display of wealth and status but more about personal experience, emotional engagement, and individual style. To some extent, it is a kind of freedom and release, because the focus is shifting from dressing for others (external) to pleasing yourself (internal). It provides a new perspective to define luxury, for new luxury should comes from the inside out: comes from the rich inner world. Although old luxury is primarily based on showing off and new luxury is more concerned about personal satisfaction, it does not mean that consumers need to hide the purse/logo. In fact, it is too dry to design an unmarked luxury purse as small as possible to be held back. Rather, it is the responsibility of designer to find a subtle solution to adjust the new trend. Fashion is based on history but not an empty creation. Looking back the history of old luxury purse would provide possibilities to simplify the exterior design, keep the interesting display and integrate the feature of new luxury. Purse is a very idiosyncratic fashion artefact. It is a mixture of public (display of wealth and status) and private (store personal items), ornamental (sense of style) and functional (carry everyday items). Therefore, I could learn different gesture of display (wear/hold) purses, explore the relationship between the items inside and the user, understand the aesthetic and handcraft, and know the popular everyday activities at that particular time. After a review of the history of old luxury purses, I could find design prototypes for t this project. This bag was inspired by traditional Japanese Inro. A person would carry everyday items (such as herbal medicine and individual seal) in containers suspended from the sash (obi) around his waist, the most common type of container was the Inro. Into consisted of interlocking compartments held together by silk cords. Continuation of the feature and structure of obi and inro，I simplified their use to match the contemporary context. The interior texture imitated leaves of cabbage. The cabbage (Bai Cai) is a symbol for wealth in China because it has same pronunciation as the word “wealth” (Cai). The pieces of cabbage texture were made from TPU(Thermoplastic polyurethanes). TPU is an elastic material in between rubber (silicone) and plastic (PVC). It is soft, light and thermoplastic. Therefore, using TPU to make different texture inside could effectively protect the valued content. CHALLENGE: (1) 3D Printing The combination of traditional handcraft and rapid prototyping is an inheritance and innovation. Using 3D print dose not mean to reply on computer technology. It means be open to new technology which could shorten the handcrafted production period and improve accuracy. Here are the contributions of 3D print in fabrication of this project: (i) Providing the supporting base/frame for purse making. (ii) Assuring of the accurate opening structure. (iii) Reserving equidistant holes for hand stitching. Some objects were printed for the base and opening structure which would be covered by leather. Therefore, the most important thing in 3D modelling was reserving enough space for leather due to its thickness, so that those two parts of purse could be locked together. Others printed objects were the mould of casting. Therefore, a smooth surface was necessary. After finishing 3D modelling in Rhino, I chose SLA printer Form 2 to get the printed object with smooth surface through stacking layers of layers high-detailed resin. Compared to other printing materials (ABS/PLA), high-detailed resin is the most exquisite, so that its finished surface could be as smooth and strong as possible. (2) Clay Sculpture 3D print could provide accurate base for the exterior of purse while clay sculpture could offer a natural textured base for the interior. Although I tried to make a 3D model for the textured base in Rhino, it looked stiff and dose not have vitality. fortunately, the texture pottery decoration techniques gave a very helpful reference. Clay was quite soft and easy to shape before baking. Therefore, pottery artists could use different kinds of tools to make decorative texture on the surface at the forming stage. Similarly, in this project, I use graver to sculpture the base of texture. Placing a thin layer of clay on the intrados of a PVC hemisphere and then I could add texture on it. The PVC hemisphere with clay texture was used to be placed at the interior of purse. However, the baking temperature of super clay is 130℃ while the glass transition temperature of PVC is 82℃ (melting point is 100-260℃), which means it could not be bake in the oven otherwise the PVC hemisphere would loose shape or even melt. In order to solve this problem, I used a heat gun to selective heating the clay in 10 seconds and leave it to be cool in case of deformation. Repeated the same action after 3-4 times, the clay textured base would be hardened while the PVC hemisphere still keep its perfect shape. (3) Dying and planting texture All of texture in this collection was made of TPU which is an elastic material in between rubber (silicone) and plastic (PVC). Compared to silicone, TPU would be much easier to stick to other materials. It is lighter than silicone and less sticky-dust. Compared to PVC, TPU is as soft as fabric and rarely to be creased. What’s more, TPU is also a popular contemporary material found in outer cases of mobile electronic devices, such as mobile phones. It is also used to make keyboard protectors for laptops. Therefore, using TPU to make the texture inside could effectively protect the valued content. TPU dying required a different kind of dye for Synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon: iDye Poly (Jacquard Products). There were three elements that determined the result of dying: temperature, timing, and consumption. Soaking 0.1-0.5mm TPU pieces in a steel bow which filled with 30-40℃ dye for 2 minutes, it was longer enough to achieve a obvious pigmentation effect. It would be better to slowly heat the dye, otherwise the water molecules would carry the dye particles to move in high speed. As a result, there were many coloured spot on the TPU pieces. As for planting texture, hand-cut TPU pieces could be stick on the grooves of textured base with resin or epoxy, and could also be stitched together. (4)Knotting Knot was a symbol of gathering luck and wealth in Chinese culture. I used cord to approach a purse to the body, so I need to make a knot at the ends of cord. I added one more cord so that there were three braids to make a diamond cord. ADDED DATE: 2017-02-27 17:06:55 TEAM MEMBERS (1) : IMAGE CREDITS: Image #1: Photographer Yifeng Chen, From The Inside Out, 2016. Image #2: Photographer Yifeng Chen, From The Inside Out, 2016. Image #3: Photographer Yifeng Chen, From The Inside Out, 2016. Image #4: Photographer Yifeng Chen, From The Inside Out, 2016. Image #5: Photographer Xiutao Fu, From The Inside Out, 2016. PATENTS/COPYRIGHTS: Copyrights belong to Xiutao Fu, 2016. |
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| Visit the following page to learn more: https://www.xiutao-fu.com | |||||
| AWARD DETAILS | |
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From The Inside Out Bags by Xiutao Fu is Runner-up for A' Design Award in Fashion and Travel Accessories Design Category, 2016 - 2017.· Press Members: Login or Register to request an exclusive interview with Xiutao Fu. · Click here to register inorder to view the profile and other works by Xiutao Fu. |
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