We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Sofie Di Bartolomeo about their original and creative Haptic Fabric design work. Sofie Di Bartolomeo is an award-winning fashion designer, that makes our world a better place with their original haptic fabric works.
Sofie Di Bartolomeo ("SDB") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Tactical Haptic Fabric. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
SDB : Tactical is inspired by the haptic sensations. The attention to the tactile aspects is of great importance in many fields of design. But when talking about fabrics, especially in the fashion field, tactility is often taken for granted or it is related to the type of material used but it is never the main focus. Therefore the aim for the creation of this textile was to highlight the tactile aspect, by manipulating the screen-printing technique, that is mostly used to create flat surfaces.
SDB : The main idea was to emphasize the importance of the tactile aspect in the design of clothing and to demonstrate that in addition to aesthetics and functionality also the sensory emotions given by the fabrics can have an impact in our way of interacting with our body.
SDB : I would like to continue developing the idea with other tools, through the use of new technologies for example.
SDB : This project is part of a bigger one that took me a period of six months to be realized.
SDB : I designer this textile together with other pieces of textiles as a thesis for my master degree in textile design.
SDB : My Interest and love for the surfaces, and for the tactical aspect of an object, that is quite strong in the field of product design but not so much, or at least never the main feature in the wearable field.
SDB : There are not many similar concepts, at least in the field of fashion, which focuses so much on the aesthetics, or on the functionality of a garment. The strong point of this project is the focus on the tactile and emotional aspect that can be experienced by a fabric that is then going to interface with a person.
SDB : The name "Tactical" recalls the world tactility that is the main feature of the project.
SDB : I realized the pattern of the surface through a parametric 3D software (Grasshopper) to manipulate and create fading effects on the final surface. To maximize the amount of the coating mixture that can be applied to the fabric, I developed a special screen for printing. Once I did transfer the pattern on the fabric, I fixated it in the oven where the applied paste starts a small growing process that will give the three-dimensional effect to the final surface.
SDB : I didn't collaborate with other people for the realization of this design, but to test the textile many people have been involved.
SDB : The biggest challenge was to create a tactile expression in terms of texture and volume through the screen-printing, that is more often related to flat surfaces with a strong visual expression. Therefore I had to design a whole new system to realize the screen. Furthermore, it was not easy to imagine how a pattern or a paste would react in combination with a certain material or motif, without many experimentations. Another difficulty was that almost every step was based on manual abilities.
SDB : During the design of this work, I learned how important is to experiment and to dare and to never make assumptions about something that you haven't tried yet.
