Phase 3

The Afterlife

In the final phase of the exhibit, visitors enter a dark, underwater world where sand-covered floors mimic the ocean bed. At the center are six avant-garde garments, each representing a different element of nature. These pieces are displayed in various ways—some encased in glass, others behind a window or under a curved roof—immersing the viewer in the exhibit. Inspired by nature's survival instincts, the designs symbolize an elephant, shark, fish, butterfly, flowers, and jellyfish. They represent nature's adaptation in response to human exploitation, serving as a powerful reminder of our impact on the environment and the need to protect it.

The VR Experience

In the final stage of the virtual experience, the audience enters a space resembling an exhibition, free to explore at their own pace. A teleportation feature allows them to move seamlessly between different areas, fully immersing themselves in the environment. The digital garments on display represent the natural objects destroyed in earlier stages. The sound of deep ocean water in the background enhances the atmosphere, creating a sense of intimacy as the audience examines the garments up close. This proximity encourages reflection on the consequences of their earlier actions and the environmental impact of fast fashion.

Creating Digital Garments:

My design process involves utilizing Clo 3D to create and design all garments. These garments are animated and then imported into Blender for additional processing, resulting in the creation of a 3D environment that brings each look to life for visualization purposes.

Elephant

Shark

Fish

Butterfly

Plants

Jellyfish

Analysis

Phase 3

Nature Objects as Garments

The designs on display are the result of subconsciously guided creative decisions. Viewed together, they convey a fantastical and slightly dystopian aesthetic. The color palette is dominated by warm tones such as burnt orange and dark sandy beige, contrasted with murky blue hues. The garments are sculpted, exaggerated, and animated, symbolizing the destroyed objects of nature, giving them the appearance of living and breathing creatures. The designs are a reflection of the impact of human actions on the environment and the need to protect it.

Color and Mood

The visualization of the space is seemingly dystopian and deprived of living things. There is only emptiness and darkness that creates ambiguity to where the space begins and ends. Upon the darkness, the sun is still providing light over the right side of the space, juxtaposed against the left side of the room left in the shadow. Lighting technique such as this is often used in cinematography to creates mood and convey stories. It is one of the fundamental elements of moving images.

The visual representation of the space is evocative of a dystopian world, barren and devoid of life. In this case, the space is bathed in a dark blue to slightly greenish blue hue, a darker color of aquamarine. In film color theory, blue is commonly associated with water, coldness, melancholy and passivity, among other emotions (Rothstein, 2020). This perfectly captures the emotion of a world where living things are non-existent, leaving one to ponder the consequences of human actions.