I originally set out to create a range which contained hardly any fabric embellishments due to my consumer; however when reading about the different types of blindness across the UK I found that some of my visually impaired customers can see some light and colour definition. In order to create a garment which involved my consumers senses I set out to find new technogies which would develop this idea.
When researching into possible designer to inspire my range I came across Stella McCartney and further research led me to her glow in the dark sports range. In her range Stella uses vinyl prints in glow in the dark resin to transfer a pattern onto the garment; this is really effective for sportswear however I felt it looked too sporty for my target consumer. Furthermore, when investigating glow in the dark sources I came across a website which stocked glow in the dark cotton fabric. The fabric has a normal white appearance in the light however when exposed to darkness the fabric glows green.
Plush addict, the stockist of the fabric sent me a small sample which I could then manipulate throughout my designs for example:
During the design development stage I thought it might be interesting to pair the glow in the dark fabric with the laser cutting I had created. By pairing these two fabrics together in the dark the glow fabric will glow through the laser cut holes.
I also had the idea of using the fabric for select pairs of the garments such as hoods and pocket linings; creating a complete garment In the fabric or using the fabric for alternate layers of a garment.
