To recap, my inspiration comes from the Armadillo, a mammal with a leathery armour shell. In my design, I am going to remake the leathery hard shell with recycled aluminum cans through the technique of weaving.

At this point of time, I am making the final adjustments and refinement to my outfit. The following is an updated version of my design concept:

Title: Little Armoured One

My motive and inspiration behind my dress had to do with beauty and defence in Mother Nature. I wanted to show that technology could be integrated in garments to move along with the wearer’s actions, in which minimal action can create a big transformation between beauty and defence. My garment combines geometric design with organic forms to create a juxtaposition between hard and soft edge. In defence mode, my dress appears to be an armour for a lady. To initiate transformation, the lady will wave her hand towards her abdomen to activate an infra-red sensor which would send signals to the servo rotator to start rotation. During transformation, the rotation will result in the winding of a translucent string that will bring the edge of the armour-skirt up to reveal the natural colour – purple and gold, of the can drinks and the soft grey polyester fabric with three-dimensional spiral protrusions. The rotation will also cause the two bulbous shapes on the lady’s shoulders to bloom into two pink lotuses, where lotus symbolizes rebirth.

 

I was inspired to create a warrior armour for Mother Nature which transforms into a beautiful scene of blooming flowers with the help of rotating motors and motion sensor. The idea of Mother Nature fighting a war with her “killer litter”, addressed in a piece of wearable technology made out of waste cans. Biomimicry can be observed in the imitation of an armadillo’s rigid shield that covers its tail, back to the top of its head. The underside of the animal which is covered with soft skin and fur is replaced with folded organza. The transformation of my dress is similar to the idea of rebirth and at the same time the uprooting of Mother Nature. The uprooting of Mother Nature is symbolized by the livestock we indirectly harm when they step on the broken cans that we litter in our natural environment. At the same time, if we could contribute in our effort through the proper disposal of wastage and recycling activities, the outcome can be blooming flowers.

 

The underside of the animal which is covered with soft skin and fur is replaced with folded organza which was recycled from my previous project. This was how the organza looked like before I transformed it to fit the theme of this project: