Refashioning an old garment

Zhuowen Wu

For the assignment, I chose to explore reuse through refashioning a garment I no longer wear. My aim was to refashion the garment into a new design that I find visually appealing and would wear more often since the original garment was uncomfortable and the design did not appeal to me. Thus, I created this summer garment that can be worn in different ways (with or without choker and gloves). To add new features to the garment, I used textile remnants (black chiffon and net fabric) that I had available, so nothing new was sought for this assignment. With the old garment, I was able to create not only the upper-body piece, but also the gloves that can be worn as a decorative element. For my video, I decided to include movements like running and twirling to show how the garment acts on the body when in motion and to give a 360 degrees view of the garment.

final prototype image 1
Final prototype image 1: front view of garment styled with a skirt by Zhuowen Wu
final prototype image 2
Final prototype image 2: right-side and back view of garment by Zhuowen Wu
Inspiration collage
Inspiration collage: images of refashioned garments that inspired me to work with the technique of joining fabrics to the bottom part of the garment (images are also included in folio with references) by Zhuowen Wu
Design development
Design Development: this was a key moment in my development phase where I started to really know what design features I wanted to add to my final modified garment (by Zhuowen Wu)
detail image
Detail of choker design connected to chiffon strap with safety pin (detachable so that the garment can be worn with or without the chocker) by Zhuowen Wu