Sparkling Refreshment

Abstract

<p>This garment was initially inspired by Paco Rabanne’s use of non-traditional materials in his 1960s “unwearable” fashion designs. The fabric for the garment body was made from circles cut from recycled aluminum cans that were sewn onto a dissolvable substrate to create a net. The t-shaped garment is entirely constructed through the stitching process without any seams. To make the garment more comfortable to wear, knit cut waste from the garment industry was cut into circles and applied to the back as a lining. The waste from the circle cut cans was crushed and sewn onto a repurposed fabric form to create a matching headdress. Combined with the glittery and highly patterned material, the silhouette reflects the ancient Byzantine dalmatic so small square patterns, reminiscent of Byzantine <em>segmentae</em> were included in the design as decorative graphic elements.</p>