CORALACE
Our vision for Coralace was to emulate the appearance of coral cells floating weightlessly as if suspended in the ocean. To achieve this effect, we experimented with 3D printing clusters of cells through sheer fabric panels; binding innovative fabrication with tried-and-true woven material to ‘suspend’ the individual cells in our desired formation whilst allowing movement and fluidity. In keeping with our desire to uphold sustainable practice, and notably for the sheer strength of fibre, we settled on using natural silk organza. As the printing filament we use is a recyclable and biodegradable biopolymer called poly lactic acid (PLA), this made for a wonderfully eco-friendly material symbiosis.
To create the magical illusion of floating coral formations across a larger textile surface, the tiny cells are digitally ‘grown’ across the garment pattern in an array of Voronoi panels that organically divide the fabric into printable parts. We established attractors deployed across the surface to enlarge the coral cell density where fuller coverage, structure and/or visual emphasis is desired, and likewise to shrink the cells in strategic places to open the veil and softly drape the textile. The panels’ edges are printed with a working seam; simply clipping into place to their neighbours in a wonderfully efficient no-sew assembly. More than a functional accessory, these seams scribe a beautiful organic web across the textile’s surface; organic cellular pattern lined with pearl-like beads evoking the dappled patterns of ocean waves.
A multi-sensory delight, the delicate coral textile emulates the sound of seashells clinking underfoot at the beach as the garment sways to the movement of the wearer.