Temasek Polytechnic students merge sportswear with bridal gowns
Sustainability featured at Temasek Poly's annual design show
You may soon be using materials created from bacteria, or donning sportswear-inspired bridal gowns.
These are two of the ideas behind 400 final-year projects showcased at Temasek Polytechnic's 2019 design show last week.
One of the highlights of the show was a category called Sustainability Awards, where the top three projects that address bigger issues would each receive a $1,000 prize.
One of the winners of the Sustainability Awards was Miss Tiew Jia Hui, 21, who studies product and industrial design.
Her project Unearth was an interactive product series crafted with a sustainable, natural material technology called scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) – the layer that forms during the fermentation of kombucha, a health drink.
"My idea behind this project was to introduce new sustainable materials to the public," she told The New Paper.
By mixing tea, sugar and scoby, you can get different layers to form. Over time the layer thickens and it strengthens when it is dried.
Through this process, she created three items. The first was a nightlight that explores the material's translucency.
The second was a bracelet that features the material's ability to be moulded.
Lastly, she created a sprouting pot that focuses on its biodegradable properties. These pots can be put into soil when seeds start to sprout and will act as a fertiliser and balance the pH value of the soil.
"The biggest challenge was coming up with a good concept for the material. It was quite challenging but fun," said Miss Tiew, who, like all design students, finished her project within a four-month period.
PITCH
The design show also saw the inaugural run of The Pitch, an initiative that will see 11 commercially viable final-year projects pitched to a panel of angel investors, commercial incubators and venture capitalists.
One of the 11 projects that were pitched was Athdal by Miss Ooi Huimin, 24, and Miss Tan Jia Ni Jerlyn, 21. They are both studying apparel design and merchandising.
Their project involves the fusion of athleisure with bridal wear.
Miss Ooi told TNP: "Our concept stemmed from the fact that athleisure has become a lifestyle trend. We wanted to bring this trend into the bridal industry that typically features traditional bridal designs and silhouettes."
Miss Tan, who created the designs, added: "I was inspired by male-female dancing pairs, and incorporated the masculinity through harder fabrics and the femininity through softer fabrics such as lace."
With these ideas in mind, they created a collection that used comfortable sweat resistant fabrics and gowns with sportier necklines and shorts.
"We were so happy to see our project come to life. It turned out a lot better than expected because it started as a huge challenge of merging two different concepts into one," they said.
Mr Chow Chee Yong, manager of BeyonDesign Centre, 49, commended the students for their hard work.
"This group of students were very impressive. They really understood what they were doing and it really shows in their work," he said.
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