Arts Thread

“Fluid” explores queer selfhood during the time of COVID-19 addressing the questions; how does the queer body intersect the material and relate to space when traditional boundaries are in flux? What does queer safety look like when queer community is fractured? The collection demonstrates the potential for slow fashion to be prototyped digitally and then made to order. This technology adapted to fashion can engage the viewer in a different way to live streamed runways and conventional photoshoots, and can connect the artistic, conceptual framework behind a collection to the viewer with significantly reduced waste. This work merges art, fashion and commerce. 3D software can create compelling visual narratives, and design, patternmaking and prototyping can be accurately recreated virtually. There is no physical waste involved in these phases of production, and the accuracy of the simulations reduces the waste involved in creating the physical garments. “Fluid” emphasises the capacity for digital fashion to align with pre-existing fashion practices, to improve on the chain of production and combat fast fashion, highlight the potential for a multidisciplinary approach to fashion that advances the industry, reduce waste, and create more immersive content that can be experienced by a wider audience. It celebrates non-traditional narratives that can reflect the lived queer experience and the increasingly diverse identities that fall under that expansive category.