Ulf William Erik Wahlström

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WASHI(T)

“This work explores paper textiles in relation to pleats with a focus on the corset to build

shape, displacing the body and gender.”

Ulf William Erik Wahlström

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Abstract

This work introduces usable, washable garments made from woven and knitted paper to the eld of fashion. With the rise of mass production and over consumption, the value of clothes and textiles decreases, and the

pollution from non-renewable materials increases. By utilizing paper in clothes as a new sustainable textile alternative, working with the aesthetics of pleats to elongate the body, and the transformative e ects of the corset to build and shape the body, displacing the gender, to work with androgyny as a way to showcase the

nish work reference historical gender normatives in Buddhist art. This work depicts a collection with emphasis on the body (wearer of clothing and social construction) and construction (which uses the body

and tradition), tradition (expectation and displacement) whilst also working with future issues of sustainability using exclusively paper textile.

Keywords

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L I N E U P

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Index P. 1 Abstract P. 2-7 Collection P. 8 Index

P. 9 Introduction to the eld

P. 10-13 State of the Art

P. 10 Bea Szenfeld P. 11 Sun Lee

P. 12 Hussein Chalayan

P. 13 The Corset and The Buddha

P. 14-16 Motive and Idea

P. 14-16 Background - Why Paper?

P. 17 Aim

P. 18-39 Method & Development

P. 18 Method

P. 19 Development

P. 20-21 Bindings - Woven Fabric P. 22 Yarn combinations P. 23 Dye and Colour P. 24 Knitted - Structures P. 25-26 Pleats

P. 27-30 The Celestial body-Investigating shape P. 31-32 The Body

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Introduction to the ﬁeld

Paper, a material used daily all around the world, with historical references dating back to the 2nd-century BCE in China. Paper comes in many varieties and an astonishing amount of usage spanning from sheets for painting and writing to packaging and cleaning. It is a material of contradicting properties, available to be both hard and soft, heavy or light. In an article written by Mina Sinai (Sinai, 2020) for Recycle Nation, she explains that paper can be recycled up to seven times before the bers become too short to be recycled again, compared to plastic that only has a recycled lifespan of once or twice depending on the plastic.

(Eckard and Hjelm, 2015) previously explored the manila paper yarn at The Swedish School of Textiles, expresses the lack of information about paper textile in their journal "Trikå av pappersgarn (knitted fabrics of paper yarn)," both from a lingual and scienti c point of view, yet to touch on the unused potential of knitted and woven paper fabric represented as physical, wearable garments.

The history of paper and clothes both date all the way back to 800 AD. Origami shaped kimonos were made in Japan, and the oldest known paper dolls are seen at the Germanisches National museum dating back to the mid-17 century.

Paper dolls are the rst known paper and fashion related combination (Fig. 1). These two-dimensional dolls made out of paper came together with matching out ts that could be put onto the doll with foldable tabs. This inexpensive children's toy became widely popular in early 1800 and has in uenced artists and designers of today. Fashion designer Jeremy Scott created a

collection inspired by paper dolls for Moschino's spring 2017 show (Fig. 2). The models wore clothes with paper doll tabs and drawings of clothes as prints, making the three-dimensional clothes appear two-dimensional.

In the mid-1960s, the use of paper garments was a novelty. Consumerism marketed paper as a fun and disposable way of dressing, as written by (Dickson, Carol Anne 1979). With its

intention of only one day use, the garments were often seen with bold, whimsical, and advertising prints, expressing a joyest and not so serious part of fashion (Fig. 3). The trend of daily underwear became a realized idea with its easy, cheap, and hygienical approach. At the end of the 1960s, the realization of poor t, uncomfortable textures, and a tendency for prints and colours to fade, made the trend to quickly disappear.

Despite the public death of paper clothing, disposable non-woven paper garments are still in use. (Gilpin, Phyllis B 1954) explains how clothes worn in hospitals need to be

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State of the Art

Bea Szenfeld

Designer, Bea Szenfeld, has narrowed down her work to focus on just the medium of paper. She uses paper, creating elaborate shapes and silhouettes on the human body, questioning what is wearable, and what is static art. Further explained by (Hou, M. Z., & Yoo, Y, 2017) studying the expressional characteristics of papercraft fashion, they mention Bea Szenfeld´s art as narrative, embodying animals and human interaction with papercraft. Her work creates a combination of fashion and sculptural art. The technique she is utilizing in her work is a reference to Japanese origami, folding and cutting the raw paper to create three-dimensional objects. The pieces she makes are not always dependent on the body but often shown on one (Fig. 4). These paper garments are wearable only for a special occasion due to the fragility of the paper.

Bea creates garments by shaping paper sheets into objects. Her use of paper is what makes her work di erent from other fashion designers. Elevating this work by making the paper wearable and washable is a step forward. The fragility of regular paper makes it di cult to believe in its potential as a wearable textile, but having it in a woven and knitted fabric may give it probability.

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Sun Lee

South Korean Sun Lee, a Design Academy Eindhoven graduate from 2019, created a collection of six garments made from traditional Korean hanji paper and hansan-mosi fabric (Fig. 5). (Jang, J., Lee, S., Endo, T. and Kim, N., 2013) writes about the characteristics of cellulosic bres and paper sheets from Korean paper, making it durable, yet light.

An article by (Han, S., 2020) describing Sun Lee´s collection, writes the collection was created to show a disposable and sustainable alternative material that had cultural references to her homeland. Each garment is constructed to be easily recycled.

By cutting paper and twisting hanji into long thin strings, Sun Lee weaves a fabric from which a garment can be constructed.

Making use of this, Sun Lee uses excess paper to pad a paper coat, making it warmer and insulated, taking inspiration from traditional Korean wooden homes where paper was used indoors as insulation and ventilation.

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Hussein Chalayan

The Turkish designer Hussein Chalayan created a dress in 1993, that could fold into the shape of an envelope (Fig. 6). The dress, named 'Airmail dress', was an interactive dress, made of paper, that could become unique depending on what the sender wrote on it. In the book "Hussein Chalayan" by (Chalayan and Evans, 2005), explains his thought process regarding fashion and technology, stating, "Only with technology can you create new things in fashion. Everything else has already been done". Indicating that the creation of new comes from applying the latest in technology to garment making, in order to move fashion further.

(Andrew, S. 2014) writes, "Non-wovens such as Tyvek can be surface printed for clothing, (such as Hussein Chalayan's airmail dress, 1999), or used more conventionally for FedEx envelopes, having the performance qualities associated with both paper and textiles." Clearly indicating that the Airmail dress paper material is a play on the notion of a letter and an envelope. The use of the material is not the focus of the piece. Instead, it is synonymous with something that isn't traditionally worn as a garment, making for a good performance piece.

With the concept surrounding the use of paper, this work does not elevate the paper as a durable material. The structure and colour of the paper has been implemented as a way to honour the original material. With this work, I plan to keep the same relation to paper by using its white colour, but avoid the common characteristics of the material, making a paper garment that ows rather than folds.

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The Corset and the Buddha

If you would have asked me 15 years ago, what my favorite fashion show was, I would have told you;

Christian Dior haute couture spring/summer 2004 by John Galliano ("Christian Dior Spring 2004 Couture Fashion Show", 2020), if you were to ask me the same question today, I would give you the same answer. I believe this collection to be outstanding in its way to pull historical and cultural references and aesthetics to a modern and most memorable place. In 2004 cultural appropriation wasn't the rst thing that would pop up in my mind, not at all, but rather an absolute cultural and historical appreciation. This collection was based on ancient Egypt (around 3100 B.C. to its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.) The

collection brings in corsets in a very interesting way where it alters the position of the body's posture (Fig. 7) to mimic the famous egyptian stand portrayed in art as humans in pro le (Fig. 8). The use of corsets helps to shape the body to tell a story, to idolize a vision into reality. The same way Galliano uses the corset to shape and alter the body into a vision, I myself want to use the corset to evoke interest and storytelling with the corset.

Fig. 7 Dior haute couture 2004 Fig. 8 Ancient egyptian art

My personal interest in culture has been prominent my entire life. I have always been deeply fascinated in cultural di erences, in arts, architecture, food, language, music and clothes from all around the world. As my view of the world expanded I came across Japan. I am far from the rst and only one fascinated with this country's rich and diverse culture. I have visited Japan numeral times, and have both close friends from Japan and a sister that has lived there. Every time I visit, I spend time in Buddhist and Shinto Jingū-ji (“shrine temple”) to visually inhale the spiritual arts that surround me. The shape of the buddhist statues in the temples brings calmness and a sense of purity to mind (Fig. 9), these sculptures are heavy and old, but yet portray a very light and timeless feel. I will use parts of the buddhist sculptures as guidelines in the creation of silhouette and form and the androgunous aspect of buddhist art to help me build a story of personal interest and exploration in relation to the body and gender.

Fig. 9

Japanese sculpture of Bodhisattva Guanyin

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Motive and Idea

This work uses the potential of paper as a new sustainable alternative over other textile fabrics, exchanging the existing alternatives with paper fabric to improve and broaden the use of sustainable and renewable materials used in the fashion and textile production. By looking at di erent bindings and combinations of pleats, the idea is to use the vertical lines of the pleats to push the proportions and lines of the natural body.

By devoting the collection to this one material, I am creating a collection that is not only renewable in some aspects, but renewable in its entirety. Choosing to create fabric from the manilla plant is bene cial for the environment. The fast-growing plant takes only three years until fully grown. Neither chemicals nor pesticides are needed for the plant to grow, creating organic farming possibilities ("PRODUCT - Paper Yarn OJO⁺ a ber friendly to mankind and environment", 2020) . During growth the manilla plant lters the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and releases oxygen during the photosynthesis. The textile is naturally

biodegradable and non-toxic when nally incinerated as fuel to create heat and energy, or reduced to carbon dioxide and water if biodegraded as compost ( Eckard, A., & Hjälm, J. 2015). The ber is highly permeable and dries fast, which reduces energy using drying methods like a dry tumbler ("PRODUCT - Paper Yarn OJO⁺ a ber friendly to mankind and environment", 2020) .

The company Oji Fiber Co., Ltd that produces the paper yarn is certi ed with producing yarn that has low environmental impacts. The paper yarn that they produce is certi ed Öko-Tex standard 100, category 1, indicating that it is very safe for babies, humans, animals and also the environment ("PRODUCT - Paper Yarn OJO⁺ a ber friendly to mankind and environment", 2020) . The paper yarn is produced di erently than for example compared to the commonly used, controversial ber cotton. Cotton demands

pre-treatment removing pesticides before it can be spun into yarn. Synthetic bers go through a stage of melt, wet or dry spinning that the paper yarn does not, and is instead twisted from thin strings of paper sheets reducing stages of production making a more environmentally friendly product ( Eckard, A., & Hjälm, J. 2015) .

The market is hungry for sustainable alternative materials, giving this fabric high commercial potential. This collection will show the possibilities of commercially made clothes, exclusively made out of paper with a soft and owy drape, while maintaining durability.

To recycle paper, paper goes through a process of dissolving by spinning in water until the cellulose bers are broken up into smaller pieces, creating pulp. After that, the pulp is laid out on a canvas to dry and then pressed to be made into paper again. The quality of the recycled paper depends on the length of the bers. ("Återvinningsprocessen -

Förpacknings- och tidningsinsamlingen, FTI", 2020) . Doing this, it would take advantage of the seven-time recycle lifespan of paper in a sustainable and e cient way, utilizing 100% of the fabric created (Sinai, 2020). Creating a

no-waste philosophy, using a circular production (Fig. 10).

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of renewable fabrics. Presented as both woven and knitted garments, working with the fabric so it has a soft and pliable feel, making it hard to tell that it is made from paper. Doing this to compete with the not so sustainable counterpart, may help reduce the consumption and expendable approach of non-recyclable clothes. (Hans Dieleman, 2008) writes how designers can become the new frontiers for the arts and cultures with sustainability in his text "Sustainability, art and re exivity.". Taking on this responsibility as a designer, the goal is to build on sustainability, so it does not become an obstacle, rather than the solution to design. By creating wearable clothes that can be worn and used as commercial garments, I intend to build on Hans Dielemans ideas.

The idea is to use the corset on the male body to build a female silhouette, breaking the normative clothing conventions and codes by rethinking the established ideas of beauty, age, gender and body. The conceptual fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto questioned the western norms of fashion, described by the dress historian Alexis Romao (Romano, A, 2011, p 109) “... uprooted and broke clothing conventions and codes, rethinking established ideas of beauty, age, gender and the body.”. Yamamoto created androgynous shapes by removing the body contoures, Im working the opposite way to bring out the body contures, merging the male body shape into a more femenine.

From the historical references of buddhist art, the idea is to look at the androgenic statues of bodhisattvas, that puts the importance of gender as second to none. looking at that visual language to generate a collection with a di erent take on the body and gender. (Burton-Rose, D. 2012). writes about the transcendent ideals and profane realities in Buddhism, Classicism, and Daoism, explaining the androgyny and how its shaped the arts in a genderless way. The buddhist removal of gender in art puts the human, before the sex, making equallity more profound.

Written by (Jenny Spets Wojarski, 2020) Skogsindustrierna, The wood and forest industry in Sweden stands for 10% of its total export. After Canada, Sweden is the world's largest forest industry nation, looking at export shares. Creating awareness of textiles made from paper may potentially raise the interest of the local production of textiles. (Gadde, L.E. and Jonsson, P., 2019) writes about the future of the Swedish textile industry, explaining that the "Social,

environmental, and political factors are expected to become increasingly important for future sourcing decisions.". Pointing at the political importance of local materials, that the paper textile could implemented to Sweden, and the region of Marks kommun, spanning to Borås has a long history of high quality produced textiles. Growing up in this region and witnessing the last parts of the industry move abroad, I have a dream to one day be a part of its comeback. With a sustainable and holistic approach to both the environment and people, use innovative textiles coming from the local, Swedish forests, working with the paper textile to bring back abundance to a priorly booming industry.

Why Paper?

This entire paper fabric idea started when I saw a box with Japanese writing on it in the knitting lab the rst week of school, year one 2017. As a person with admiration towards Japanese culture, I asked what it was and was told it contained a yarn made entirely from paper, rough, hard, and quite unpleasant. At the end of year two, during a sustainability course, I came up with the idea to exchange plastic nets used for greens and instead use paper as a biodegradable alternative. In the end, a prototype paper net for oranges was created (Fig. 11). During this work the investigation of the sustainable properties of the paper yarn was made and can be read in “Återvinningsbart fruktnät i papper Hållbar a ärs- och produktutveckling” by (Rydäng, C. Hertzman, E. Rydlinger, E. Bångsbo, J. Svensson, J. Asp, K. Holmberg, K. Zennertun, M. Kjellberg, O. Wahlström, W., 2019)

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I was given the opportunity to create a gown for the reigning Swedish Minister of Education and Research ("CV Matilda Ernkrans", 2020), Matilda Ernkran's attendance at the 2019 Nobel Prize. Her brief regarding the dress was for it to be inspired by the idea of sustainability. I thought it would be a meaningful challenge and began working with the theme as more than just inspiration and instead showcase something new regarding textiles. I immediately thought of the paper yarn and got in contact with the weave technician Roger Högberg at school (The Swedish School of Textiles). Together with my classmate Filippa Svensson, we created a woven twill fabric. Under a limited timespan, we made a white gown, with black brushstrokes drawn onto the white fabric representing paper and ink, nature and pollution (Fig. 12).

The gown was nominated on TV ("Studenter designade nobelklänning åt minister", 2020) (Fig. 15) as one of the three best dresses during the evening by the Nobel Prize fashion correspondent Cia Jansson, Editor-in-chief of ELLE Sweden ("ELLEs Cia Jansson kommenterar Nobel 2019 på SVT", 2020). This experience and positive reaction led me to this work, further exploring the potential of making garments out of paper textiles. The gown and its use of sustainable paper was brought up in a feature of ELLE Sverige Nr 05, 2020 ("Nr 05, 2020 - ELLE Sverige", 2020) because of the innovative use of textile material, with a environmental message in a heavily political and scienti cally important event such as The Nobel Prize, referencing back to (Gadde, L.E. and Jonsson, P., 2019) "Social, environmental, and political factors are expected to become increasingly important for future sourcing decisions." (page 14) .

(Fig. 12) The sketch (Fig. 13) The Swedish Minister of education (Fig. 14) The gown was constructed using 15 and research, Matilda Ernkrans meters of paper textile

(Fig. 15) Matilda Ernkrans, at the honorable table together with the Nobel Prize winner for literature, Peter Handke

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Aim

This work aims to explore paper textiles in relation to pleats with a focus on the corset to build shape, displacing the body and gender.

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Methods

The process of developing the paper fabric and creating garments with it will be conducted through the method of trial and error (Callander, Steven. 2011.), "Searching and Learning by Trial and Error.". Also explained in the book, Design Methods by (Jones, J.C. 1992) with his circular design process where 'fail early and fail often' applies, working with a garment, trying it out and going back to the

initial idea, function or silhouette of the design.

Using traditional two-dimensional sketching in a paper doll way to generate out ts and garments with proportions that mimics and follows the silhouette of a made up, non realistic body (Fig. 16). The sketch (Fig. 16) shows the body with desired proportions, and to realize that in a three-dimensional out t, creating those

proportions on a human body will make use of a circular process, tting the garments on a human model and going back, comparing the three-dimensional garments and proportions with the two-dimensional sketch. This makes use of sketch to visualize ideas,( Stacey, M. K., Eckert, C. M., & McFadzean, J. 1999) explains the importance of creative freedom using sketch “ Sketch interpretation in design communication”.

Garments will be drawn (Fig. 17) and then cut out to t the paper doll body. With the paper doll clothes, one can combine and layer di erent garments, creating numerous unexpected looks. This method will create a fast way to generate out ts by looking at the shape and proportions of the garments on the body, making use of traditional illustrative design communication using paper, together with the historical reference to paper dolls.

Using the corset as a method to build a new androgenous body, resembling the sketch (Fig. 17) in volume and shape, distorting the natural body, by morphing it into a desired shape. Using my own body, with male features, I'm able to use my gender to rupture the conventions and codes, rethinking the established ideas of beauty and gender. .

The ‘New Body’ recipe, using the circular method:

With ( 1 ) reference picture - create a two-dimensional body through traditional ( 2 ) sketch .

Creating ( 3 ) textile samples - Going back to ( 1 ) reference pictures - Adding clothes to the ( 2 ) sketched body - looking at created ( 3 ) textile samples - pulling garment shape from the ( 1 ) reference pictures - With

( 2 ) sketched garments and out ts - create ( 3 ) textile material - Draping looking at ( 2 ) sketch - creating ( 4 ) garment - trying on ( 5 ) body - going back to compare with ( 2 ) sketch - changing ( 4 ) garment - tting on ( 5 ) body - compare with ( 2 ) sketch .

The circular process 1 2 3 , 1 2 3 , 1 2 3 - 2 4 5 , 2 4 5 , 2 ...

Since the fabric has not been created, it needs to be done through trial and error. This will be conducted through seven di erent stages of exploration; (1)Fabric construction, (2)Bindings, (3)Yarn combination, (4)Colour and Print, (5)Pleats, (6)Construction and (7)Durability. This to create knowledge around the material and a bank of alternative variations and combinations of the paper fabric for this collection. Comparing the di erent samples of textile to the reference images and the sketches, will help to determine what samples to choose as explained in the Development chapter (Pages 19-39).

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Development

Bindings - Woven Fabric

For the woven fabric, four variations of bindings were explored: plain weave (Fig. 15 & 16), twill (Fig. 17), herringbone (Fig. 18) and wa e weave (Fig. 19). The decision to start making plain weave was made due to the need for a dense weave, a woven fabric that keeps its strength in the construction and wear of corsets. Having studied paper yarns (Abou-Nassif, 2014) writes about the e ect of changing the weave structure and weft density and how it alters the physical and mechanical properties of the fabric. One meter of each binding was later made to look at the potentials of the alternative bindings, using them to create di erent garments. Due to COVID-19, a no access lockdown of the labs made it impossible to get more meters of the di erent bindings, and therefore the plain weave has been used in creating garments.

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(Fig. 17) Twill (Fig. 18) Herringbone

(Fig. 19) Waﬄe Weave

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Yarn combinations

Two yarn combinations for the woven fabric were tested. One a combination of thin unbleached yarn with a thicker bleach yarn (Fig. 20), the other made only with the bleached yarn (Fig. 21). The single bleached yarn was chosen as the fabric gave a crisp and uni ed colour, making it easier to match with the knitted fabric. The thicker yarn made the woven fabric more durable compared to the thin unbleached combination.

(Fig. 20) Combination of unbleached thin yarn and (Fig. 21) Single thick bleached yarn bleached thicker yarn

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Dye and Colour

Trials with dying and printing, using reactive dyes, to show capability for industry standards with bright and precise colouring were made (Fig. 22 & 23) to see how the paper fabric absorbed dye pigment. The paper worked well with these dyes and was also printed using reactive dyes that showed good potential in printing. Coloring using tea was also made (Fig. 25 ), showing that the material could be dyed using natural, organic and sustainable alternatives.

I had previously applied acrylic paint to the fabric when adding the black element to the gown at the Nobel Prize awards (Page. 15). That paint stayed well, and was still stuck to the fabric after washing at 40° (Fig. 24), indicating that the fabric absorbs di erent types of colour well, as most untreated papers do.

(Fig. 22) Combination yarn fabric, dyed in a muddy pink (Fig. 23) Combination yarn fabric, dyed in a mustard yellow Pantone 7634 C Pantone 1245 C

(Fig. 24) Black acrylic paint washed at 40° (Fig. 25 ) Light beige, green tea dyed knitted paper.

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Knitted - Structures

For the knitted material, four knit structures were made: single jersey (Fig. 26), full rib (Fig. 27), 2x2 rib (Fig. 28), and pleats (Fig. 29). The single jersey was too transparent and felt too plain. The full rib was not able to hold its structure and came out with holes due to the yarn not being elastic enough for the needles to collect. The 2x2 rib, as with the single jersey, came out transparent, and I found the stitch structure to be too commonly used and went for the pleated fabric, due to its dense structure and its similarities to the research pictures of the draped Buddhist gowns and Karesansui sand patterns (seen on page 25). The pleated fabric also helps to de ne the vertical lines and the curves of the body, helping me to alter the perceptions by a point of rapture in the out t, making the eye take note of the lines and curves.

(Fig. 26) Single Jersey (Fig. 27) Full Rib

(Fig. 28) 2x2 Rib (Fig. 29) Knitted Pleats

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Pleats

Three sizes of pleats were made: small (Fig. 30), medium (Fig. 31), and large (Fig. 32). The small pleats presented as rib-knit to the eye and not pleats. The choice was out of medium or large, with the medium being more aesthetically pleasing, gathering in a way that better showed o curves and was more

proportionate with the human body (Fig. 33). The pleats also help to create shadows, making the vertical lines of the body more de ned.

(Fig. 30) Small (Fig. 31) Medium

(Fig. 32) Large Small pleats and medium pleats compared.

(Fig. 33) Medium size draped on a torso, showing proportions.

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I pleated the woven fabric with traditional paper molds and steam oven (Fig. 34), (Pleat, 2020). The knitted pleat (Fig. 35), being constructed directly from the machine, had better draping properties, a good density that was not transparent, and the hooking structure of the knit makes the fabric move with a slight bounce. The way of constructing pleats directly while making the fabric was also more time-e cient, compared to the traditional mold and steam way of weave pleats. Utilizing the knitted pleats allowed me to create tension in the garments, changing the shadows of the pleats, making parts of the garments more body conscious.

(Fig. 34) Steam pressed pleats - Woven pleats (Fig. 35) Constructed - Knitted pleats

Creating the garments, I looked at ways to keep the pleats gathered in the folds. I sewed down the pleats making tucks of the knitted material (Fig. 36) to xate them, so the pleats looked like they were gathered and tightly folded at all times. This choice made for a material with heavy, yet a owy drape, and it had a

possibility to stand on itself, making it tight and neat where needed, but still moving nicely where it fell from the body (Fig. 37). The material was too thick to sew the pieces together, so I could not move forward with this technique due to time restrictions.

(Fig. 36) Tucks (Fig. 37) Making of tucks, draping of tucked fabric on a body and 1,5m pleats sewn down to 25 cm tuck

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Other explorations of pleats were combinations of knitted pleat structures. Knitted from the machine with an intricate, predetermined structure that should be draped, aesthetically on to the body, would have taken me too much time to gure out where and how to construct with. I made these to look at and challenge the stretch of the yarn in the machine, purely as an experiment.

Pleats changing directions Pleats vertically going from small to large.

The Celestial Body - Investigating Shape

The shape study and the inspiration for the drawings came from the book “Japanese Temples Sculpture, Paintings, Gardens and Architecture [Title of book] by J. Edward Kidder Jr Published in 1964 by Bijutsu Shuppan-Sha (Kidder, 1964). The book contains images of temple related art from ancient Japan (Fig. 38). Sculptures are displaying the soft drape and ow of fabric and gardens with decisive and repetitive patterns. The way the fabrics on the sculptures gathered and the repetitive folds they created, reminded me of pleats, as did the Karesansui (Zen garden) with its striped shaped sand. It was the shapes in the pictures of this book that made me translate that vision into making a pleated fabric.

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Using the method and idea of paper dolls to create combinations of looks, I sketched a body and head (Fig. 40). The body has exaggerated shapes to mimic parts of the female body, of which are accentuated in the buddhist sculptures. The underlying shape of the doll helps to structure each drawn garment, visualizing scale, and proportion (Fig. 39).

(Fig. 39)The “paper doll body” surrounded by “paper doll garments” (Fig. 40)“The paper doll head” with “paper doll hats”

My sketched garment explaining the relations to the inspiration: Neckfolds creating a high, horizontal pleated collar. Wide cleavage, exposing the chest and nipples. Long draped garments falling and gathering at the waist creating a bulk, making the shape of the hips appear more protruded and femenine like.

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Kannon bodhisattva, lord of compassion, goddess of mercy, also known as Guanyin, is historically depicted as either female or male. In this picture, I looked at the bust cleavage, making it a shape that will show up in the corset's construction. I nd the folds and curves in teresting, following and enhancing the natural volumes and lines, creating movement and shape to the body. Keeping the chest exposed and not building a bosom, removes one of the most noticeable characteristics of a female body, the breast, making the corset more androgunous.

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The idea of a pleated structure for the textile came from the repetitive sand patterns of the Karesansui. The straight lines curved by the round shapes ruptures the visuals, creating a focus point.

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(Fig. 43)

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The Body

Creating the shape and the proportions of the body, I worked with the reference pictures of the Buddhist statues. Most of these statues are depictions of Bodhisattvas (Bodhisattva, 2020), and each Bodhisattva has di erent traits but carries the same regal and divine presence, making them look in control, both physically and mentally. What I nd alluring is the way the fabric drapes on the statues, elongating the body, and creating soft shapes, looking at the fabric gathering on the hips, making them protrude creates an illusion of longer legs with a high hip bone. By focusing on the waist and hips, I intend to trick the eye into making the wearers legs appear longer. The cinched waist helps the viewer determine where the body goes from upper body to lower body. Having the hip bone exaggerated and pushed upwards, adds another 10-15cm to the legs.

Both women and men are Bodhisattvas (Bodhisattva, 2020), but neither one has a very feminine nor masculine presence. Utilizing my own looks, having a shaved head and a petite stature, being mindful of the endless di erences and social stigmas surrounding the human, the female, and the male body shape, I decided to follow the androgynous notion of the Bodhisattvas, making my own body the object of shape and size as the base for the corset. By doing this, I would also experience how the garment felt on the body, a very important part, helping me to determine if the garment is pushed far enough to where I want it to be. As long as I don't feel empowered by the garment, it is not right, but when you feel it, you know it

immediately and that can only be referred to as personal taste and/or style.

Illustrated body with desired proportions using the paper doll method.

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The Corset

Corsets were needed underneath to create the resembling silhouette of the Buddhist sculptures (Fig. 38). The corset is the new body, on top of the wearer. The corset creates the new androgunous body. Not only does the corset make the garment on top of it sit and drape di erently, it also creates a straight, upright posture, displacing the wearer's body, forcing it to be in the moment, aware of his or her breathing and movements. Attempts to create the right corset took draping, construction using tape, and carving out a doll's waist, ending up with 17 corsets toiled.

The rst toile of the corset created shape using padding to make the hips, ribcage, and breast more prominent.

Using tape, I molded a shape, of which I then drew on the pattern pieces, making use of tape as a construction method.

(Fig. 44) Red markings, indicating what changes needed to be made. Cutting the corset in two pieces, to ﬁgure out the ﬁt.

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With the wrong posture of the previous doll, I found a doll with more natural anatomical features ( g. 45). The waist measurement was not enough to make a noticeable impact on the waist reduction, so I decided to cut out and shape a doll made from styrofoam to t the waist reduction that I had envisioned (Fig. 46). Measuring my waist and pulling it tight with a belt tape, I could reduce it with 17 cm, going from 69cm to 52cm. This amount of reduction demands dedication and willingness to wear the garment, creating a mental strength to push the body to ful ll a vision of excellence.

(Fig. 45) Using a more anatomically correct doll

(Fig. 46) Creating the right waist measurement by cutting a styrofoam doll at a circumference of 52cm.

During these alterations, I understood that a basic corset construction would not work. The shape of the hips and belly would not be able to stay straight on the body, and the hips would need an inside layer that laid close to the body and then another layer that would act as the pockets for the hips. So, I started over, instead making a corset body with two layers (Fig. 47), I formed the inside layer to hug the hips and the outside layer created the hip volume, making a space in between for padding.

(Fig. 47) The body corset now constructed with two layers and a hip pocket to create the right volume.

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(Fig. 48)

Trying the corset body on a female friend with larger proportions than me and making last alterations, extending the hips further down over the thigh and changing the hip volume, so it looks more humanly anatomical. The pictures (Fig. 48) show a very pillowy looking hip shape, which I did not approve of. It looked more like a swollen part of the body, rather than an exaggerated construction of an angled yet smooth human hip bone. I decided to expose the chest to make the most gender revealing body part visible. Doing this and using a male body, creates a clash of gender forming clothes. With a typical male upper body and chest and a lover more feminine hip structure.

(Fig. 50)

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The Shirt Dress

With the same plain-woven paper fabric used to create the corset, I made a long shirt that can be worn as a dress or as a loose tted shirt. This shirt was chosen to showcase a well known archetypal garment as a versatile piece now made in paper, that can be worn in a stereotypical male, or/and female way depending on the wearer's intentions. Cutting apart a second-hand shirt and increasing the length and the width of the pattern to make the shirt long enough to be worn as a dress. I changed the pattern to look like the paper doll out t I made using a dress and a shirt on top of each other (Fig. 51).

(Fig. 51) The sketch that created the shape of the shirt (Fig. 52 ) Showing the slit, exposing

the leg and the corset

The slits at the side of the shirt make the wearer able to access the trousers pockets, without pulling up the shirt, it also makes the shirt drape better when worn over the corset, slightly exposing the exaggerated hips (Fig. 52 ).

This shirt has been worn for 13 days, to see how it would hold up during daily wear and wash. A tinted SPF has stained the shirt's collar, but both the mud and the grass stains washed out at 40°. The shirt has been washed three times at 90° and without a ecting the quality of the fabric negatively.

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Jackets

I wanted to use the pleated jersey, constructing something that usually needs a woven fabric with structure. Using the pleated jersey instead of a woven fabric would create focus on the material and act as a way to create a leisurely, yet elegant feel and look to a usually strict garment. Therefore, I set out to make a suit jacket in pleated knit.

I rst made a jacket by not considering the outcome and just cutting the fabric. The issue of time, made so that I took action before thinking. This resulted in a trial and error outcome. Without intention, I ironed the fabric and by accident had stains from the iron drip on the fabric. Now I had a at, not pleated fabric with stains. Due to the time constraints, I made a jacket out of the stained fabric, noticing that it was much easier to construct having it be at. Then I threw the at suit jacket in the washing machine to get rid of the stains. After the washing, the at jacket had regained its pleats as they were before I had ironed (Fig. 53).

The conclusion from this rst 'failed' attempt instead became a jacket that resulted in the knowledge of how to construct a pleated jersey. Ironing the pleats at, making for a at fabric, then cutting and constructing more easily, later washing the garment after it's been assembled made it possible for a pleated jersey garment with details.

For the oversized jacket (Fig. 54), I cut open an old mens suit jacket, using the parts as patterns. With the newly found technique, knowing how to manage the pleated jersey, I decided to create a more detailed jacket with classic elements like a collar stand, lapel, slits, and pockets.

(Fig. 53) The ﬁrst tight jacket after it has been washed, still wet. Material and colour

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Trousers

I created two di erent versions of trousers: one that is tight and ared out towards the bottom (Fig. 55) and the other, wide and loose tted (Fig. 56).

The decision to go with high waisted trousers was to make them go with the corset. The intention was to make an integrated corset that the trouser could attach to. The problem was that the material was too thick for me to get through both a double faced coset and a thick jersey, so instead, the pant became dependent on wearing the body corset underneath, to create its shape. The t of the trouser follows the leg tightly and then

ares out, all the way down to the oor, covering the ankles and the foot. By not locating the ankles, the lower part of the leg appears longer. This type of pant shows a slender and elongated leg (Fig. 55 ).

(Fig. 55 ) Tight trouser aring out to the bottom. Material and Colour

The use of the technique where I ironed the pleats and then cut out and sew the pattern pieces together made the wide trouser more detailed as the knowledge of how to handle the material was noted. I followed one of the illustrations that I had made (Fig. 56), and looked at the length of the trousers, going all the way from the waist to the oor, in a straight line. This also makes the leg appear very long because you can't tell where the knee is located on the leg. A longer lower part of the leg makes the wearer appear taller.

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The Gown

The gown that I created is a continuation of the slim suit jacket extended with a long skirt and a dramatic cape. The cape has double the width of the fabric, making it wrap from arm to arm. While moving, it shows o the drape, ow, and structure of the fabric in a light way, even though the fabric is heavy. The corset construction makes the shape of the gown appear both body-hugging and voluminous. The Buddhist statues draped in long fabrics covering their arms (Fig. 57), made me attach the cape to the sleeves, creating the same visuals as the statues.

(Fig. 57)

The gown with a reference picture of a Buddhist statue sitting down, with draped cloth around its shoulders and arms.

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Result

The result of this work is a collection made only out of sustainable and renewable paper.The delicate yet dramatic proportions of each look build a modern army of androgenic celestial expression. The soft, pure colour of untouched paper hints at the homage to the material, making the viewer aware of the textiles and questioning its origin. The absence of colour makes one have to sharpen the gaze to realize the garments are only made using paper. Making it ambiguous, yet obvious at the same time. The white colour signals the purity of the bodhisattvas, the purity of sustainability and the beginning of something new and untouched. This collection shows the endless possibilities of making actual garments out of paper.

Created exclusively from paper textiles, this collection is a result of renewable, sustainable and holistic thinking, applied to build desire, the desire to create beauty, from and with good intentions. Compared to other designers working with paper, such as Bea Szenfeld, Sun Lee and Hussein Chalayan, I have utilized the paper in a way that shows the paper, not from its limits and what it can't do as clothes, but it's still

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Look One

I wanted to show a very relatable garment, a piece that most people would recognise and be able to compare with what they, themselves own. Therefore I made a dress shirt. The shirt shows the material's potential as an everyday garment. A staple in everyone's wardrobe and something that could quickly and easily transform from a casual shirt to an evening look with the help of a belt or a corset. The shirt has been worn and

washed, strengthening the claims for a paper fabric that is serviceable and able to exchange the existing alternatives on the market.

Material: 100% paper.

Plain weave Plain weave in detail.

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Look two

A body-hugging suit worn on top of a corset. A suit that has a strict and severe feminine look to it with a deep cleavage and form tted shape. The trousers are high waisted, long, slim and ared.

Material: 100% paper

Suit made from pleated knit. Corset made from plain weave

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Look three

The caped gown, with its dramatic, almost theatrical silhouette, is a continuation of the more strict suit, interpreted as a gown. The gown has a beautiful drape and ow, making the wearer appear regal. While both in motion and standing still, the wearer looks as he/she is oating. This gown has clear resemblance to the cultural references, with the draped fabric falling from the shoulders, wrapping the wearer in an excessive amount of meters of the heavy, pleated fabric. It is the showpiece of the collection.

Gown made from pleated knit. Corset made from plain weave

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Look four

The result is a double-faced corset with a stu ed hip pocket and bosom cutout, creating the curves and cleavage shape of the Buddhist sculptures. For this, I used the woven paper textile with a plain weave structure. The hard, set structure and weight of the corset make me think of armour, evoking strength, elegance, and power.

Material: 100% paper.

Plain weave Plain weave in detail.

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Look Five

Look ve, is an oversized jacket with visible pockets, paired with large owy pants, all in knitted pleats, creates a chic “je ne sais quoi” tone to the suit look.

Jacket and trousers made from pleated knit. The Inner pockets and inner waist

belt are made from the plain weave

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Look six Tech Pack Page 46 - 52

Woven shirt with a Mao collar and large voluminous arms. Worn underneath a woven dress with a deep cleavage, visible back, and slits at the sides, to be able to be worn with pants, or to show more leg and to fall nicely over the corset. A continuation of look one.

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Look seven Tech Pack Page 54 - 59

Gown made from tucks, inspired by the Karesansui gardens from Japan. A corseted body with knitted tucks, following and accentuating the shape of the celectreal body.

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Discussion

I investigated the possibility of creating sustainable clothes, using only paper textile. The aim was to explore paper textiles in relation to pleats with a focus on the corset to build shape, displacing the body and gender.

Using the corset to alter the body makes it possible to experiment with the proportions and shape, even the gender of the wearer. By minimizing the waist and accentuating the hip bones one can make a body appear more femenine. By altering volumes and curves of the body, that both genders have, I have managed to extract gender codes that can make the body and garment appear more femenine and/or masculine depending on the shape. There are parts of the sexes that are unique but in the case of my corset neither one of these parts are echantuated (Breast, and groin bulge), instead the waist and the hip are the two parts that have been altered. This shows that proportions and curves are what we humans consider masculine or femenine. By pulling in the waist on a man makes him appear much more female like, whilst a straighter more narrow hipped gure might read as more male gure. I believe the way we humans have since the dawn of time altered our bodys with clothes, shows that we are curious and open to explore alternatives. The current generation of humanity is questioning the set gender norms and what those have forced us to do and not to do with our lives. By playing with gender and breaking the barriers between what has previously only existed as two opposites, might help us to generate a more equal society with less focus on what the born gender makes us and instead what we want to express with our gender.

The fabric that I made, shows a diverse amount of explorations of bindings and techniques commonly used in the textile industry today, indicating that paper is a textile to be considered amongst the more commonly used bres. I managed to create a collection, made entirely from paper, showcasing both textile ingenuity, construction capacity and a wish to enlighten others about the future textile alternative, that is paper.

I have opened up endless amounts of possibilities with this material, ranging from its ability to be made into serviceable garments, and in the future try to make home textiles and accessories. The printing and dying part of this project can be pushed much further, and I see a future where this fabric has implementations to the areas of clothes combined with colour that would push the interest of sustainable materials even further (Fig. 58 ). Paper and art are synonymous with each other and therefore I believe it is a good continuation to combine the paper

material with art as its expression.

I had an idea to have each out t come down the runway, dripping, and colouring itself while the model was walking, but due to COVID-19, this was not going to happen and instead I choose to work with the unedited version to maybe let the implementation of colour show at upcoming projects.

I had initially intended to make di erent types of gowns, made with the tuck technique, but the knitted fabric that I had created, weighed more than what was anticipated, and the amounts of fabric that it took to make tucks exceeded the amounts that I had created during pre-COVID-19. I had to look at other ways to create something majestic, without using the tucks.

To research further into, I have saved all the scraps gathered from cutting out the garment pieces. The intention is to recycle all the scraps, convert them back into paper, creating yarn once again. Using this recycle method, could assist with creating the paper for marketing to print advertising campaigns on for a brand and/or new clothes created from the scraps of the last collection. I am planning to later recycle all the scraps, back into paper, possibly creating paper to print a portfolio on. In order to make yarn ones again, utilizing the seven-time recycled lifespan of paper, I am planning to get in contact with Oji Fiber Co., Ltd. to get their take on it. If either way is doable that would make use of 100% of the fabric created during this collection for a no-waste - circular philosophy.

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