For the final project, Alan, Rainee, and I created a dress based on the concept of biomimicry of a betta fish (also known as a Siamese fighting fish). This species is particularly prone to violent tendencies, and assert their dominance by essentially turning against others of the same kind. Male betta fish specifically, when put in pairs/even numbers, will fight to the death until a single fish is left standing.
Betta fish for reference
Through integration of interactivity with visual confluence, we aimed to best reflect the idea of fusing the human body with that of the betta fish. With this project, we hope to provide an insight of the connections between human and nature, as well as what would happen if the negative trajectory of treatment towards marine life continues in a post-human world in which the human and betta fish become a hybrid creature.
Materials used:
We tested out different fabrics and TPU colours to see what would work best with the laser cutter as well as what would pair best together. In the end, we decided on the reflective blue/purple stretch mesh as the basis of the dress and the blue/purple scales with different dimensions. As accents for the middle of the dress, underneath the large scales, and the headpiece, we used the rainbow TPU to provide contrast without overpowering the other elements. Furthermore, the TPU is a waterproof fabric, and combined with the colour we chose, truly helps translate our inspiration of the betta fish.
In terms of the design of the overall dress, I proposed the idea that pockets would best hide the motors and circuit. After I sewed the pockets into the base dress itself, we realised that making the triangular structure created by the pockets more solid allowed us to be able to put the mechanic scales on the front, as it allowed the scales to lay on a flat surface thus allowing for movement with the motor.
With the issue of covering the entire base dress completely, I thought about how to best fulfil that while allowing for access to the motors and circuit as well. Thus, keeping the front pockets for the motors open allows for free movement of the scales, and creating draping along the back of the dress ensures that the back circuit is accessible by lifting the drapes, but well hidden when the model is wearing it. Furthermore, the panels draped over the shoulders allows the elastic in the back of base dress to stay while mostly being covered as well. As a whole, the draping gives an illusion of the waves of water - thus making the dress more fish-like.
To further turn the dress more fish-like, I wrapped the 3D printed scales around the torso of the dress and trickled it down to the rest of it to blend the two parts more seamlessly. I also lined the inner pockets holding the motors with more of the individual scales to hide the glaring white color of the base dress, and the same scales were put on the model’s neck and face to encapsulate her as a betta fish-human hybrid.
Materials used: