TROUSERS TO CLIMB TREES V1
CIRCE FELLOWSHIP, JUNE - OCT 2024
“Tousers to Climb Trees” (V1) is a 5-month pilot project that explored the translation of the clothing needs of neurodivergent communities into tangible meaningful changes in clothing design processes. This was made possible through a fellowship from Creative Impact Research Centre Europe (CIRCE) that supports creative entrepreneurship and social impact. A summary of the project results can be downloaded here.
This design experiment emerged from my PhD research that found that the sensory discords crafted within clothing construction and the constricting fit of clothing can have a profoundly distressing impact on the health and quality of life of the wearer. Equally, optimising sensory nourishment through design choices can have a profoundly positive impact. However, this requires an alternative to the design and manufacturing processes that dominate the fashion system today.
The title of this pilot project was inspired by a research participant’s response when I asked how she wanted her clothing to feel: “I want to feel like I can climb trees in my clothing!” You can learn more about Stine’s sensory experiences with clothing here.
Naturally, our first step in the design process was to go out and climb a tree! We examined the movements that the trousers should facilitate and how the fabric should respond to these movements. The aim was to position the moving body at the forefront of the design process to explore how clothing can support a feeling of freedom, both physically and emotionally.
Through a series of embodied workshops Stine and I explored how to shape fabric on her body whilst moving in and out of these climbing positions; transforming a traditionally static and visual design practice into one that is dynamic and multi-sensory. I then invited Norwegian choreographer Rannei Grenne to refine this process; prioritising the kinaesthetic sense of the wearer to guide the design process.
In a continuous process, the knowledge from each workshop was translated into the next prototype. The prototypes became more than material artefacts. They became a form of visualised knowledge transfer. Each prototype became a visual map on which I marked the results of the test protocol as well as the notations I needed as a designer. The wearer/ research participant could also manifest their aesthetic preferences.
This prototyping phase is not complete. There is of course more to be considered and tested in terms of the waistband, the zip, the hardware, the pockets. How do these impact the movement and sensory experience? However, how I might prototype these in my personal fashion design practice is not compatible with how it might be produced in mass production. Therefore the long term goal is to use this body of work to build strategic working relationships within the fashion industry and neurodivergent organisations, to sustain this project development into its next phase.
This project was funded by CIRCE Creative Impact Fund. The process was captured by photographer Anders Myklebust. The involvement of choreographer Rannei Grenne (pictured), was supported by Trondheim Kommune.