SHIOKA OKAMOTO

TEXTILE DESIGN | WEB PORTFOLIO


Sensory Pleasure





The series of textile design proposes the alternative way of processing the crepe fabric woven with high-twisted yarn which is called "chirimen" primarily produced for Kimono. Having inspired by the production procedure and the feature of crepe fabric, this way transforms the plain raw fabric into three-dimensional surface by laser-cutting and boiling. Combining newer technology into the traditional material has brought the surface unlike to the existing chirimen fabric. Since the yarn has a protein-based element which is removed by boiling, the warp yarn shrinks by almost 1/3 after the treatment. The cutting pattern and the printed patterns has been well-designed to maximize the fascination of the phenomenon.



Size: approx. 500mm x 110mm (each)



Size: approx. 500mm x 110mm (each)



Size: approx. 110mm x 150mm



Size: approx. 110mm x 150mm (each)



This textile design has been developed to discuss how the unused part of chirimen fabric can be treated differently avoiding being wasted. Generally the textile industry produces a lot of waste during the manufacturing process, the chirimen fabric is not the exception - at least 2 yards will be wasted per a roll of the fabric. As this technique does not require large amount of the fabric to achieve it, any small pieces of the fabric can be processed for alternative use.



Size: approx. 1100mm x 300mm



Size: approx. 1100mm x 300mm



Size: approx. 1100mm x 300mm



Textile industry in Japan has been shrank and declined for the aged society having difficulty to work with the younger generation. Each of the regions have specific technique and background - Tango region in north Kyoto for chirimen fabric is in the same situation. The proposed textile design, Sensory Pleasure encourages the disappearing crafts and people working there, making it more recognizable, then creates opportunity to fascinate any generation.



Design





The basic cut pattern for this project is three: all of them are 10mm lines placed alternately, this is resulted after testing around 50 patterns, otherwise the fabric will collapse when the cut lines are too wide or diagonal. Difference between these three patterns can be seen not only from appearance but also from when you touch it: more cut line has more softness as the cut lines works as its structure. These patterns are can be combined within a piece of fabric to create more textured surface.



detail: 5mm



detail: 10mm



detail: 20mm



experiments, samples



process





The fabric, chirimen, has to be plain and raw without any chemical treatment before this procedure. Then the fabric is going to be laser-cut with geometrical patterns, and boiled in hot water to archive the designed surface. For the printed pattern design, it has to be done before laser-cut to avoid mistakes causing dirt on the surface. Once it has been boiled, the shrunken part will be fixed, never back to the original length. Laser-cutting is essential because it actually burns the edge of lines while cutting, this fact prevents threads fraying.





data



Textile design developmemt



2019-2020

Designed by Shioka Okamoto


Material: chirimen fabric (polyester)

Technique: Laser cutting, printing

Size: varied


Winner, 2022 iF Design Award


Winner, 2020 Red Dot: Design concept

Exhibition ”A Preview Of The Future”

8.10.2020 - 31.1.2021, at Red Dot Design Museum, Singapore


Selected, Exhibition "Talente 2020"

11.3.2020 - 15.3.2020

as a part of the Internationale Handwerksmesse, Munich, DE [online]


Curated toured exhibition ”Arternative Futures” (video below)

31.10.2020 - 27.12.2020, at 3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo, JP

8.1.2021 - 10.8.2021, at Horikawa Oike Gallery, Kyoto, JP

10.2.2021 - 12.2.2021, at Kyoto Prefectural Textile and Machinery Metal Promotion Center, Kyoto, JP


Supported by

Usui Orimono Corporation, Kyoto



(c) Shioka Okamoto