I love origami cranes from a very young age. So for this assignment, I tried to use non-woven fabric to make an origami crane, using its moving wings for a soft switch. The kinetic part of the bird's tail and wings worked well. However, the wings were not very well connected when I closed the wings in the beginnning. Then I asked Marcela and realized that the switch of the battery didn’t turn on😂. Obviously, the soft button wings worked much better than before after turning the switch on.
Ying Gao’s point of speculative design and her emphasis on creativity sound interesting, and I agree that fashion design always needs upgrading and progress. Gao said fashion for her is “a sort of encounter with time”, and a designer is supposed to innovate. As a designer, I would think in the same way - I want to make something that people haven’t done before. But as for myself, out of the role of designer, I’m deeply attracted by the 2000s’ fashion, and I believe that fashion is a cycle, in contrast to Gao’s opinion of always being innovative. Here, fashion probably means just the fashion for the public/normal people, not the world's first-class fashion designers. Every year, the top designers in the world gather together to decide which fabric/color/style will be next year’s popular trend. However, even if what they decide could be the trend for most popular brands and people who always pay attention to what is on trend, some people have other styles that they prefer compared to these trending styles. The 2000s’ fashion and “vintage” are trending among some people in China in recent years, and I’m one of them. I like this style because it makes me feel that I’m unique wearing this “just-one-piece” vintage, and more importantly, I like how the 2000s’ fashion incorporates punk style and blurs the gender. During that time, people show their personality and identity boldly. I think this is also another reason why this style attracts me.
Fashion for me is more like a way to externalize my inner self. For those who meet me for the first time, I subconsciously hope that what I wear could give them a clear message of what kind of person I am. It’s also a way to make me feel confident and prepared before going out. I’m from Chengdu, and one of the things I love most about Chengdu is that no matter what I wear when I go out shopping, people don’t give me strange looks. People in Chengdu respect individuality and uniqueness. I hope that in the future, people can wear the styles they like without the limit of occasion. A punk-style business suit is acceptable on official occasions. Females can wear shorts in state-owned enterprises. Girls wearing suit pants but not skirts or boys wearing skirts but not pants in school won’t be judged or hurt. In general, I hope that the future of fashion becomes more comprehensive and accessible to people.