Flowing water, Standing time

source:designboomcom
montreal-based fashion designer, ying gao, designed robotic clothing out of silicone, glass and organza, and added electronic devices to create every-changing dynamic pieces that react to its surrounding chromatic spectrum. the collection, entitled ‘flowing water, standing time’ captures the essence of movement and stability over a period of time, and how different energies flowing through the garment, mirroring the colors in its immediate surroundings.

ying gao’s thoughtful collection was inspired by neurologist oliver sacks’ novel, the man who mistook his wife for a hat. in the story, the main character, a former sailor convinces himself he doesn’t age. shocked by his own reflection when sacks hands him a mirror, the sailor loses any sense of temporal continuity and lives as a prisoner to this perpetual moment, oscillating between a presence to the world and a presence to self.

much like the character, the garments evolve between two states and display perpetual change as they react to the chromatic spectrum. the traveling between opposite states, from immobility to movement, does not function as a dichotomy. yet, the passing of time adds dynamism to each garment in a different way.

the designer explains that, ‘in order to echo this varying mobility, the garments are capable of chromatic movement. capable of recognizing the colors in their immediate surroundings, they are at once liquid and chameleon-like, adapting to the slow rhythm of their ever-changing environment. a mirror effect is at play: the garments are reacting to what they see. much like oliver sacks’ patient, they alternate between what they are, and what they can potentially become – all the while embodying the inherent complexity of all things.’

ying gao is a montreal based fashion designer and professor at university of quebec in montreal, and former head of fashion, jewellery and accessories design programme at head-genève. ying gao has achieved personal distinction through her numerous creative projects: six solo exhibitions in france, in switzerland, in canada, and more than one hundred group exhibitions around the world.
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source:khachilifecom
When it comes to the works of fashion designer and professor Ying Gao, the old adage “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” may apply — but with a twist. Transforming the metaphorical into the literal as only the marriage of science and art can do, Gao has created multiple collections of robotic dresses that respond to human behaviour. Each collection is developed with different interactive qualities — for instance, a response to the fingerprints of strangers, voices, or light. These works challenge the spectator’s relationship to a garment, reinforcing the idea of beauty as a subjective, unquantifiable notion. In one such collection, titled No(Where) Now(here), beauty has never been more literally in the eye of the beholder: these dresses use imbedded eye tracking technology to respond to the spectator’s gaze.

Despite the wide variations in technological capability across these collections, each individual piece possesses a common ethereal quality — a romantic, other-worldliness that we love. And while the materials range from cotton, nylon, and leather to thermoplastic, our favourite is perhaps the super organza, which floats like dreamy clouds in the collections Possible Tomorrows, Now(Where) Now(here), Playtime, and Living Pod.

So: what exactly does a robotic dress do? Well, in the case of Gao’s creations, the dresses are animated largely to adopt the behavior of a living thing in response to external stimuli. The dresses wave and dilate, like breathing organisms or microbes gently propelling themselves through water. In the case of No(Where) Now(here), the movement of the dresses is enhanced by photoluminescent threads; when reacting to a spectator’s gaze, these dresses take on a blue glow. “A photograph is said to be ‘spoiled’ by blinking eyes,” says the designer. “Here, however, the concept of presence and disappearance are questioned, as the experience of chiaroscuro (clarity/obscurity) is achieved through an unfixed gaze.” Who wouldn’t want to wear one of these dresses while strolling along the famous phosphorescent blue beaches of the Maldives?

Montreal-based Ying Gao has presented solo exhibitions in France, Switzerland, and Canada, and participated in seventy group exhibitions across the world. Her innovative approach to fashion, through channels that are every bit as artistic as they are scientifically exciting, has earned her international media attention from publications like Time and Vogue.

The goal of Ying Gao’s work, according to the artist, is to question our assumptions about clothing by combining urban design, architecture, and media design. Deriving her inspiration from the ever-evolving social and urban environments, Gao utilizes technology to endow garments with poetic and interactive qualities, as well as the body’s relationship to clothing as a fragile barrier between the wearer and external factors and interferences.

But wait, fashion lovers — for now, you’ll have to put away your chequebooks. It perhaps comes as no surprise that these pieces aren’t available for retail; after all, they don’t exactly scream “ready to wear.” For now, the innovative works of Ying Gao stand both as exciting pieces of art and offbeat inventions. But if this is the future of fashion in the digital age, we’re reserving our front row seats at the runway.
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source:ellecomhk
大多人都認為時裝，其中一個與我們最密切的互動，就是面料本身與我們發膚之間的交流。不過，加拿大華裔設計師Ying Gao並不認為只有這個說法，她的作品，更將人類的一呼一吸結合、彰顯我們動作起伏的變化，以及探討人類感官與時裝的關係。就如設計師近期的大熱新作「Flowing Water，Standing Time」，用上矽樹脂、玻璃和透明硬紗製作而成的機器人服裝，驚喜之處在於它懂得自我擺動與收縮擴張，但設計是如何與穿者產生直接的互動呢？

設計師Ying Gao分享，「Flowing Water，Standing Time」的創作靈感，源於神經學家Oliver Sacks的一本小說。書中主角——水手老人，一直欺騙自己沒有因時間的流逝而老去，然而於鏡前親見自己的模樣，便感震驚。水手剎那間凝住時間，失去了任何時間上的連續性，他在世界與自我意識之間搖擺不定。

她所設計的服裝，正訴說着時間的永久變化，更有意指過去每一個時間所體驗的事情，都是獨一無二的。因此物料上的每一個擺動、每一個動作，也是優雅獨特。

當然，物料之所以能夠擺動，非面料本身的功能，因Ying在設計中添加了能夠對遭周色彩光譜釋出反應的電子設備，所以物料才有千變萬化的動態。

除了可實質反映周圍環境的顏色變化，我們亦可藉作品窺探不同的能量如何流經服裝。

設計師Ying Gao的設計，每每以「概念性」為首，「實用性」則是放在次要，非常具實驗性。

Ying Gao除了是設計師這個身分，同時也是加拿大UQAM蒙特利爾大學的教授。在她創作的歷程中，她一向致力發掘創新的可能性，尤其喜歡在高科技與時裝之間尋找出突破性。