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Part of the Haute Filtrage collection, a wearable tech collaboration between Gregory Phillips and textile designer Wendy Ng, Haute Filtrage is Toronto's contribution to Subtle Technologies Festival 2016: Seamless Visions.

The spiral structure of these pieces were inspired by the leaves of the escargot begonia, a genetically modified cultivar of the garden plant Begonia rex that arose from 'atomic gardening' or mutation breeding, the intentional exposure of the plants' seeds to radioactive sources.

The geometry was generated algorithmically via Rhinoceros 3D and Grasshopper, by mapping a helix to a sine wave. The resulting shape mimics the underlying organizational pattern of the plant, namely the logarithmic Fibonacci sequence seen throughout the natural world. The CAD models were 3D printed in multiple sizes via selective laser sintering (SLS) in nylon (polyamide). The printed leaves act as an armature for the digitally printed textiles (featuring RGB patterns) that also mimic the dazzling patterns seen in the mutant plants. The dress was designed to mimic a botanical vessel that carries the colossal leaves. An innovative polyester mesh with a property of bounciness and buoyancy is employed to echo with the lightness of the leaves. The RGB patterns were digitally printed on the semi-transparent silk georgette that was hand-cut and hand-adhered to the 3D printed leaves.

Haute Filtrage posits:

Filters are vital to our digitally mediated lives: In a landscape bombarded by signals, filters help us see the forest for the trees. Filters can block or boost information, obscure or enhance, authenticate or discredit. Can our clothing be a filter for the body? For our identity? Who is applying the filter, and who decides what is kept and what is lost? How do filters challenge our everyday perception? Using augmented reality and digital manufacturing, including 3D printing and textile design, the project aims to explore the implications of the filtered body within the public (surveillor) and private (surveilled) realms.

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Escargot Begonia Dress
Escargot Begonia Dress
Escargot Begonia Dress