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Jenna and mary - sm.large

Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel

New York, NY

We're building the future of fashion through the integration of interactive software and digital fabrication.

  1. on June 12, 2011
    Jenna and mary - sm.thumb

    Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel
    Posted project update #3

    Onwards!

    Hello everyone,

    So, we didn't make our Kickstarter goal, but the future is [still] and awesome place. ;)

    We intend to keep working on D.dress, and the rest of Continuum. In fact, we have a new project up on our website: http://www.continuumfashion.com 

    And we have a blog up too: http://www.continuuminum.com/ although it's also easy to follow us on Twitter @continuuminum

    We're keeping busy! Probably our next significant release will be September. 

    For anyone who would still like to order any of our product, please email us directly at hello@continuumfashion.com

    We have received a lot of requests about t-shirts. I am looking into getting them produced, to spread the triangulated joy. Until then, we will offer a limited edition of 15 hand-sewn by me at the $95 pledge price. (I'll even number and sign them too.) We can do black, white, or grey in your choice of sizing. Worldwide shipping included.

    Thank you for all of your comments, messages, and enthusiastic support of our work! The best part about doing this is all the people you meet. 

    Best!

    -Mary

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  2. on May 23, 2011
    Jenna and mary - sm.thumb

    Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel
    Posted project update #2

    Users are Awesome, and T-shirts too

    Hello everyone!

    Thank you greatly for your support. We're sorry to be lacking in updates...we've actually been very busy making things. (For this, and other things as well.)

    I think the most fun part of doing this has been to watch what people have made with just our demo app. There are over 1500 designs saved into our gallery. I've selected a few of my favorites below.

    Also a couple weeks back I started trying out the t-shirts. See a pic of me wearing a triangulated white tee below. I also made black, and the men's is slightly different. They are really fun and understated at the same time, and you can wear them inside out too if you like how the seams look. They are actually really hard to photograph!

    At this point, we have 2 weeks left. We've gotten really far to our goal thanks to you guys. If we don't make it, we'll still continue...it's a question of scaling down or scaling up. Not to worry, if you still really want a dress or shirt or some other triangulated design, we'll figure out how to get it to you. 

    --Mary

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  3. on April 4, 2011
    Jenna and mary - sm.thumb

    Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel
    commented on a project

    @Dustin The current collection is all based on the "triangulation" idea. This translates in different ways depending on the material. So, our t-shirts have a more natural drape than the full dresses. The triangles form the unifying aesthetic for the collection. In the future we might do other ideas that create other patterns. ;)
  4. on April 2, 2011
    Jenna and mary - sm.thumb

    Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel
    commented on a project

    @Viki, and everyone else, the "scissor" tool is now up on the site! Give it a try. We're still working to make it better, but right now you can cut away those extra triangles for when you want to make a V-neck, etc. Wait until you're done drawing to use the Scissors, you can't add more triangles once you start cutting. And yes, standard global shipping is included for everthing! We would be happy to make you a dress :)
  5. on March 24, 2011
    Jenna and mary - sm.thumb

    Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel
    commented on a project

    @Kyra Yes, the online app is still in progress. There will be a "scissors" tool to cut away those extra triangles. I have it in the Processing version, but I haven't added it to web yet. :)
  6. on March 12, 2011
    Jenna and mary - sm.thumb

    Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel
    Posted project update #1

    Week 1!

    Hello there!

    Thank you to all our first backers who brought this project to over $1500 and 10% of our goal in just the first week!

    To keep the momentum going, I'll be posting updates on the project and we work on it. I'll strive to make them interesting and full of pictures of triangulated goodness.

    Also, some more details about Continuum...

    Continuum was initially my thesis from the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID). D.dress was built on Processing and the Toxiclibs library. 

    The current version of D.dress online is completely rewritten in javascript using the Pre3D library for canvas and some other code hackery. I'm rather proud of the saving/exporting/importing part. It's a bit slow right now, but it actually creates an .stl file via php. The rendering actually runs fast enough without WebGL, but of course that will come.

    The best part about doing this project is seeing people who try the app "get it" right away. And in making a tool that lets people design something, you get far more range of interesting designs than you would ever have thought of.

    This is super fun with the online app, so I have page now that lets you see all the designs people have made and saved so far:

    www.continuumfashion.com/gallery.php

    The implementation has a ways to go...we have to add the measurement system and better drawing controls. Also ideally there would be automatic flattening of the triangle mesh into the cutting pattern, but this is actually a tricky problem to solve, so right now I've unwrapped the meshes manually in Blender. (Have you done research on automated mesh unwrapping? Please do share!)

    I am joined in this endeavor by my friend and fellow computational designer Jenna Fizel. Jenna has a background in computational architecture from MIT, and her first job was scripting algorithms for paneling crazy generative skyscrapers. We also share the same taste in fashion and obsession with rapid fabrication machines.

    One day I said to her: "I want to write code to make dresses and make it dynamically fit your measurements." She said, "Yes! But can we make shoes too?"

    Shoes will come...But yes, you can make things other than dresses using the same software. People have already realized you can make skirts with D.dress. You could also make a belt, or hat, or scarf. There would need to be some features added to better suit this, but the significance is that when a design becomes a piece of software, we encapsulate design as rules that can be combined with other rules determined directly by the user. It's not just design your own dress, it's design your own product line. Physical products becoming more digital, yes!

    To highlight this extendability, we're featuring a large variety of triangulated designs outside of the dresses. This is also because cutting the triangles creates extra remnant triangles of fabric, so it is a good method to use the scraps for making bags and hats. 

    And, we can make awesome bags! 

    Yes, I'm sure there are questions like "what do the other reward items look like?" So we'll be getting photos up as we go. 

    If you have selected the dress cutting pattern, we will make you a cutting pattern from your design according to your measurements, along with adjustments to make it sewable. 

    This weekend Jenna and I set to making things, and now my laptop proudly proclaims that the future is indeed an awesome place. (If opt for a sticker, it comes in other colors too.) Yay plotter!

    More to come...

      1. Missing_thumb
        mahesh on April 4, 2011

        dfdsfdf

      2. Floof1.thumb
        Deveril on April 4, 2011

        looks like a lovely idea.


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  7. on March 7, 2011
    Jenna and mary - sm.thumb

    Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel
    commented on a project

    Thank you Matt and Diatom! To Matt: Good question! Yes, just save your design and we'll make you a cutting pattern. (I'll put in adjustments to make sure the pattern is sewable, etc.) You can either put your name when you save it and let me know, or email the .stl file. I'll be making adjustments to the app online as we go, so you might find there will be better drawing controls later. Feel free to play around until you're satisfied with one you like. :)
  8. on March 4, 2011
    Jenna and mary - sm.thumb

    Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel launched a project

    Continuum: Computational Couture by Mary Huang & Jenna Fizel

    Custom software lets you design your own deconstructed little black dress, have it fit to your measurements, and have it made.

    Funding Unsuccessful (06/03/2011)