IMPERIAL COLLEGE FASHION DESIGN

AND

003

EDITOR'S LETTER

Welcome to issue three of Imperial College Fashion & Design, a new biannual independent magazine about the expanding world of fashion-

tech, trendy students and London couture, presented in a semi-pretentious but refreshing format.

This society was originally started in order to organise a charity fashion

show similar to other universities across England. As the society began to grow so did ideas, giving us the opportunity to explore other disciplines

such as fashion journalism.

We want this magazine to be a chance for us STEM students to show that we have other interests besides our degrees. We also want our

fellow budding engineers/scientists to discover new realms.

Nothing in these pages is PR-generated and nothing has been sold. We are not trying to promote or sell any of the brands featured; we just

want to be read and hopefully, enjoyed.

Our next issue will be out in May, and if you have something to say or feel you can contribute to the magazine, drop us an email.

PRIYA GUPTA

OCTOBER 2017

IC FASHION & DESIGN PRIYA GUPTA pg2315@ic.ac.uk

COPYRIGHT IC FAD PUBLISHED IN LONDON

OCTOBER 2017

FASHIONSOC@IMPERIAL.AC.UK IMAGES: @IMPERIALCOLLEGE

COPYRIGHT IC FAD PUBLISHED IN LONDON

SEPTEMBER 2017

FASHIONSOC@IMPERIAL.AC.UK @IC_FAD

003

08 /35

SQUAD / 08 CODED COUTURE / 20

PUMPED UP KICKS / 24 THE RISE OF BIO-THREADS / 26

INSTA SPOTLIGHT / 32

PRIYA PRESIDENT BIOLOGY THIRD YEAR HATES SHOULDER PADS LOVES SHEER TOPS

ABHI VICE PRESIDENT

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING THIRD YEAR

HATES BLUE & WHITE STRIPED SHIRTS LOVES CHOKERS

DAVE ANITAHEAD OF EVENTS

BIOLOGY THIRD YEAR HATES JUMPSUITS LOVES WATERFALL COATS

DAVE ANITA

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR PHYSICS

THIRD YEAR HATES CAMOUFLAGE

LOVES CULOTTES

ALICE

AIMEEMARKETING MAVEN BIOLOGY THIRD YEAR HATES PUFFY SLEEVES LOVES FLORAL EMBROIDERY

AIMEE

TREASURER MATHEMATICS

THIRD YEAR HATES STRAPLESS TOPS

LOVES WIDE-LEG TROUSERS

ANNIE

SECRETARY BIOLOGY THIRD YEAR HATES ADIDAS TRACKIES LOVES DENIM MINIS

ANNIE

AMAR WEBMASTER COMPUTING

SECOND YEAR HATES TALL TEES

LOVES CHELSEA BOOTS

ANGELA ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE SECOND YEAR

HATES FISHNET DRESSES LOVES STATEMENT SLEEVES

ANGELA

CODED COUTURE: DRESSING FOR THE DIGITAL AGE BY DAVE CAO

ITAL AGE

From finding you the perfect cup of coffee to finding your potential soulmate, apps have used personal data to add to many areas of modern life. Now it seems that this trend has hit dressmaking. Google and H+M’s digital fashion house Ivyrevel have teamed up in a project they call “Coded Couture”, and hope to add that little bit of personalisation to the fashion world.

Users can download an android app that contains Google’s new Awareness API technology. Using a large number of sensors from the phone (including Bluetooth and GPS), the app collects data ranging from weather and location to the types of events the user is going to. At the end of the week, this data is sent to Ivyrevel who use this to create what is being dubbed the ‘data dress’. This dress is custom made to the users’ needs and daily routines. Whilst the type of dress (such as for work or formal events or parties) is chosen by the user, the data collected will specify other aspects of the clothes. For instance, material will be chosen based on the weather data and the fit will be based on the activity level of the wearer.

The Ivyrevel brand was inspired by and for the current generation of fashion mavens and trendsetters. Though the brand has an overall feminine feel to it, there are also bold colours, designs and details used to catch even the most discerning eyes. Ivyrevel has said that they will start the pricing of the dresses at 99 US dollars, though this is subject to

change. Whilst the app is still in development, a beta is planning to be released later this year.

Currently the app is being tested by fashion influencers such as Ivyrevel’s co-founder Kenza Zouiten. Kenza is a 26 year old Swedish model and blogger with over 1.6 million followers on Instagram.

Don’t worry about feeling left out though, members of the public can sign up for trials ahead of release on the Coded Couture website.: http://www.ivyrevel.com/uk/codedcouture/codedCouture.html

Whilst many in the fashion world are excited about the prospect of dresses tailored around both their lifestyle and their figure, some people are less than happy by these developments. Google already stores large amounts of information about its users, and was recently forced to provide data for the FBI for search warrants. So many worry about the safety of providing even more data to the tech giant.

Regardless of the larger implications, Google has once again shown that they are pioneering the future in both technology, and now fashion. Coded Couture aims to allow people to express their lifestyle through these statement dresses. We at IC FAD are super excited and can’t wait to get our hands on our own personalised dresses. But what about you? Are you ready to show the world your data?

PUMPED UP

KICKS Modelled by KATHRYN

PLUMMER

Rose ribbed beanie, Maroon

canvas backpack, Urban

Outfitters. Emerald green silk shirt, Off-black, trousers,

Topshop.Dark green bomber

jacket, H&M. Grey Trainers,

New Balance

Modelled by DAVID

CAO

Plain grey jacket,

Forever 21. Grey jeans, Grey wool scarf,

Topman. Crew neck grey

jumper with stars, River

Island. Charcoal suede

shoes, Clarks..

ROISÍN

GORMAN

DAVID

CAO

Plain grey jacket,

. Grey jeans, Grey wool scarf,

. Crew neck grey

River

Charcoal suede

Clarks..

THE RISE OF BIO THREADS BY AIMEE HE

“From the day we

founded Bolt Threads,

we’ve dreamt of

partnering

with Stella

McCartney. Not only

does she have an

unparalleled aesthetic,

but her values and

pioneering sustainable

fashion align perfectly

with our vision for the

future of fashion.”

- Dan Widmaier, CEO

of Bolt Threads

When climate change begins to rear its ugly head, more and more fashion brands have hopped onto the green bandwagon to align their designs with the theme of sustainability. As part of the brand’s eco-friendly fashion initia-tives, Stella McCartney recently estab-lished a partnership with Bolt Threads, a San Francisco biotechnology compa-ny specialising in advancing sustaina-ble materials. The firm develops fibres from scratch based on proteins found in nature, and then develops cleaner, closed-loop processes for manufactur-ing, using green chemistry practices. Exemplified in the collaboration with Stella McCartney, Bolt Threads is able to create silk using yeast, making the textile vegan-friendly— staying true to the designer’s philosophy. Solution oriented, this process reduces pollu-tion, creates long-term sustainability, and always remains cruelty-free. This collaboration breeds a new trend, of combining fashion design with tech-nology, hence honks the horn of sus-tainable production of apparels.

The initial product of the partnership between McCartney and Bolt will be a one-of-a-kind gold shift dress commis-sioned for the Museum of Modern Art’s upcoming design exhibition, “Items: Is Fashion Modern?” opening from Octo-ber to January.

“On a personal and professional level partnering with Bolt Threads is so ex-citing, because it feels like everything is finally coming together and the dots are being connected between fashion, sustainability and tech innovation,”

Stella McCartney commented. “This is something that I’ve been personally on a journey to find for much of my career and I just feel like there is finally a new opportunity to bring so many indus-tries together and for them to all work as one for a better planet. It is a truly modern and mindful approach to fash-ion. The industry has so much heritage, but at times it can be damaging to the environment and it can also drag you in a backwards direction and for me I always want to move forward in fash-ion and this is truly a moment to cele-brate technology and the future of fashion.”

Stella’s approach to design puts em-phasis on sharp tailoring, a natural confidence and an effortlessly sexy style. The brand is committed to ethi-cal values, and believes the company is responsible for the resources it uses and the impact it has on the environ-ment. It is constantly exploring innova-tive ways to become more sustainable, from design to store practices and product manufacturing.

Beyond the exhibition the terms of the collaboration are undetermined. There’s been no monetary investment in Bolt by McCartney. “Right now, we’re excited to leverage our signature protein-based yarn, inspired by spider silk, within upcoming Stella McCartney collections,” Dan commented. “As our partnership develops over time, our teams are eager to collaborate on addi-tional technologies and textiles, and explore the possibilities of innovation by working together.”

@jonnymollah BIOLOGY

@chen_liu1 MEDICINE

@sprinkllleee MATHEMATICS

@alexmitcham PHYSICS

38 /59

I’M A COOL GIRL, ICE COLD / 38 SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE / 44

SMART CLOTHING OR SMART DEVICES? / 46 AUTUMN APPAREL / 50

DISCOVERY CHANNEL / 54 IC FAD IN REVIEW / 58

I’m a cool girl, ice cold

Zendaya; it girl of 2018

by fatima yaqub

she’s literally kicking down stereotypes

When Zendaya Coleman signed on to

Disney in 2010, she had one job: to

“Shake It Up”, and you best believe she

delivered. From the moment she

danced onto our screens she com-

manded centre stage with the world as

her showcase, allowing us to watch her

grow into a woman as fierce as her

always on fleek eyebrows. And whilst

she’s stayed true to her roots by stick-

ing with Disney as her character KC

Undercover, she made no secret of her

journey which has been displayed from

cover to cover and screen to screen,

finally landing her the unquestionable

title as the “it girl” of 2017.

Let’s start with the obvious. She’s

young. She’s gorgeous. She’s in the

spotlight. Naturally, she’s an “it girl”.

But what is “it”? Zendaya is beautiful

and her sense of style is constantly

commended- from red carpet looks to

day to day attire, any outfit of the day

will be a bold statement; mirroring the

voice of the young influencer. But did

you see what Kendall wore? And what

about Bella? Who wore it better? Let’s

be honest, style alone is the minimum

requirement to be a success in the

world of the young and beautiful. Style

is the must-have product of the centu-

ry, constantly appearing whenever you

decide to explore your instagram feed.

So Zendaya’s style is impeccably on

point but hardly the reason she stands

so tall in her stilettos. Zendaya’s style

is just an accessory to the girl who is

happy to lay herself as bare as one can

be in the 21st century-yes, even

makeup free- and still somehow be

covered in “it”. We ordinary civilians

can take a sigh of relief and hold back

from Harrods because it turns out “it”

is not something money can buy. “It” is

something that comes from within.

Allow me to explain. What Zendaya

brings to the table is clearly more than

a handbag and a pair of heels. Zendaya

is not just a pretty face, she has a voice

so loud you needn’t see her face for it

to be heard. The Oscars 2015- sure, we

all remember Zendaya’s gorgeous

white Vivienne Westwood gown but

what we really fell in love with was her

hair, and more so, her voice. When

caught by the fashion police, for her

hair (in dreads) that may “smell of

patchouli oil”, she did not stand posing

for the cameras in silence. In fact, she

fought back at those cameras with her

voice, proudly sharing a message on

social media shaming those who

sought to shame her, defending her

culture with grace most people hope to

achieve in their lifetimes but imbedded

in her by 18 years old. From the fash-

ion police behind screens to the Ameri-

can police scouring the streets,

Zendaya has repeatedly used her most

beautiful asset- her voice- to empower

others and speak up about racism

against the Black community.

The girl is addressing real life issues

and is doing so in ways that are unique

to her as well as relatable for all the

rest of us. Zendaya has gone further

than just protesting, she’s reached chil-

dren in their own homes and is pre-

venting a new generation from carry-

ing a history of racism and inbred prej-

udices into the future. By approaching

Disney and demanding that her TV

show focus on a black family and a girl

that is intelligent and trained in the

martial arts, she’s literally kicking

down stereotypes and in doing so has

the support of a new wave of freedom

fighting millennials, who are on

standby to support her is she’s ever

tired of slaying.

The millennials are a huge part of the

reason Zendaya is successful. Not only

do we like her instas but we also like

everything she stands for. She stands

for normality. Sure, we love her red

carpet looks but we also love that she

wants a more peaceful world and in-

clusive world just like the rest of us.

She acknowledges real world issues

like the rest of us, like any normal indi-

vidual, but she can use her loud, pow-

erful voice and scream for us all to be

heard. She can march the women’s

march but also tell Beyonce she’s kill-

ing it and in both cases the spirit of

sisterhood is appreciated by a world

undergoing a feminist resurgence

#girlgang. She’s also screaming the

issues many girls scream to themselves

in the mirror- when she looks good she

owns it, celebrates it and let’s us know

there’s nothing wrong with being hap-

py with how you look. She’ll embrace

body positivity and continually shut

down haters who skinny-shame her by

rising above it and bringing support

for all body types up with her.

It’s easy to support Zendaya because

she supports us, she supports others

and most importantly, she supports

herself. She doesn’t need me to say any

of this because she’s perfectly confi-

dent in her own beliefs and has noth-

ing to hide- she let’s us into her per-

sonal snapchats and is simultaneously

strutting through our streets by virtue

of the covers of Vogue. We see every

side of the girl, yet we still don’t know

what “it” really is. It is Zendaya- an

individual with a voice and a positive

message, the coolest girl but with the

warmest heart. We can all have “it”, we

just may not have a clothing empire, A-

list movie roles or be able to interview

Michelle Obama… seriously, what can’t

this girl do?!

Sing a Song of Sixpence

Sing a Song of Sixpence

roisín gorman

smart clothing

or smart

devices?

by angela

bunn

clothing

smart

by

bunn

Smart devices have taken us by storm, and it seems they have taken fashion designers too. From Snapchat spectacles to fit trackers, smart clothing is chang-ing the role of fashion. Below, we high-light some interesting pieces.

Snapchat Spectacles

Snapchat Spectacles were introduced in late 2016 as an extension to the pop-ular Snapchat app. These spectacles allow us to capture the things we see without having to look at a screen, al-lowing Snapchatters to keep their eyes on the street. Costing £129, the specta-cles record 10-second videos which are saved into the “Memories” section of the Snapchat app. It is rumoured that the upcoming Spectacles II will have augmented reality features!

Lady Gaga’s Interactive Stage at the 2016 Grammy Awards

At the Grammys, Lady Gaga collaborat-

ed with Intel to perform her David Bowie tribute. Lady Gaga wore Intel Curie rings, which have both sensors and radio-transmitters that allow com-munication with Xeon Intel servers to control stage elements based on her movements. The projections on the stage screen responded to Gaga’s three-dimensional position on stage. Facial recognition technology was also used, which used 10 infrared markers and sensors to track and project Gaga’s face on the screen. Then, the Intel Core i7 processor was used to apply digital “makeup”, seen when Bowie’s iconic lightning bolt was painted onto her face.

Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket

Have you ever wished that you could pause or skip a song on your iPod without having to stop your bicycle? Well, the Levi’s Commuter Trucker Jacket allows just that. Made in collab-oration with Google ATAP, this Levi’s

jacket is not only stylish, but allows you to “be in the moment, on and off your bike” as stated in its promotional video. ATAP’s Project Jacquard tech-nology is woven throughout this piece, using conductive materials to create a wearable interface between the cyclist and their smartphone. The jacket can be used to skip or pause songs, re-spond to phone calls and operate maps with simple taps and swipes to your sleeve.

Wearable Fit Trackers

Although fitness trackers began simply as step counters, the devices are be-coming more sophisticated in tracking health and activity markers. For exam-ple, the Fitbit Charge 2 not only rec-ords steps and hours of sleep, but also basal heart rate and maximal oxygen consumption, which is considered a direct correlate of fitness. Recorded data is tracked on the Fitbit app, which also boasts several wellness features such as breathing training and an in-built vibration alarm which can wake you up in the morning without loud noises.

Ryan Yasin Origami Clothes

Imperial College alumni and James Dyson award winner Ryan Yasin de-signed children’s clothes that “grow” with the child. The range features fold-ed fabric which allows garments to enlarge, reducing the need for parents to replace children’s closets. Apart from saving parents’ bank accounts, this technology helps reduce the nega-tive environmental effects of mass-produced clothing.

Angela Luna’s Survival Jackets

Angela Luna’s humanitarian collection comprises of jackets that double as tents, sleeping bags, child carriers and backpacks. Motivated by the idea of creating clothing that can help refu-gees such as those from Syria, Luna found through her research that some of the biggest hardships faced by refu-gees is a lack of shelter while on the move, and decided to create designs that could help provide these. Luna is looking to use the profit gained from selling her jackets to recreational users (such as campers) to donate them to refugees for survival purposes.

A U T U M N A P P A R E L

T R E N D S O F

F A L L ‘ 1 7 B Y

A N I T A

Thankfully summer is over so we can

all retire our crop tops and shorts and

hide away our legs and midriffs for

another few months. But what should/

will we be wearing, according to the

runways of New York, London, Paris

and Milan?

Be prepared to see a lot of red and

burgundy, a perennial favourite for

autumn. A number of designers sent

out all-red outfits for their Fall 2017

shows and Givenchy even did an

entirely red collection, consisting of 27

of their previous creative lead Riccardo

Tisci’s greatest hits.

As we all know, the 90s are never

going to end, and so neither will

plaid. This year’s plaids and

checks come in the form

of muted

neutral

coloured coats

and blazers, and

relaxed slouchy

flannels.

Possibly taking inspiration

from the breakout star of Beauty

and the Beast (2017), Plumette the

duster, feathers are a popular

embellishment for designers this

season. Alexander McQueen and

Alberta Ferreti adorned their

already dramatic evening

dresses with feathers,

and they were seen

peeking out of

the hems and

sleeves of

THE 90S ARE NEVER GOING TO END.

Dolce & Gabbana’s outerwear.

One of the most fun (and possibly my

favourite) trends seen was the pastel

oversized faux fur coat, in a variety of

Care Bear approved colours. Although

its probably not the most practical

statement coat (rain=matted fur),

getting your hands on one of these

almost guarantees that you will be

featured on a street style blog at some

point.

One trend that’s not going away any

time soon is the slogan tee, and

designers attempted to keep theirs

relevant with political themes,

particularly focusing on feminism

and immigration. Prabal

Gurung, who designed

campaign tees for Hillary

Clinton created a collection of

shirts bearing statements such as “the

future is female” while he himself wore

a shirt declaring “this is what a

feminist looks like”. Public School were

a bit more tongue in cheek, debuting a

range of “Make America New York”

shirts and hats at New York Fashion

Week. Hopefully being politically

aware is not just a fad for the fashion

industry, which can be notorious for its

lack of diversity, as obviously fashion

and clothes should be for everyone.

Perhaps as the real world is looking a

bit crap at the moment, many

designers turned to futuristic sci-fi and

space race themes to introduce an

element of escapism to their

collections. Gucci’s Fall 2017

advertising campaign is entirely based

around a Star Trek inspired short film;

they even recreated the Enterprise for

the advert. Other designers were a bit

more subtle; Christopher Kane’s gowns

were printed with UFO motifs, and

Dior’s were embroidered with phases

of the moon. Thierry Mugler showed

futuristic dresses made from spacey

silver material, which would make an

interesting alternative to the sequins

and sparkles that are popular during

the party season.

Chanel took things to the next level

with a whole space themed runway

show, complete with a (fake) rocket

launch. The clothes lived up to the

theme, with the models wearing retro

shift dresses, spacesuit-esque metallic

trousers and boots, and monochrome

astronaut prints.

However, it could be that soon

astronauts are wearing Chanel instead

of the other way round. With

companies such as SpaceX and Virgin

Galactic trying to commercialise space

travel, they will have to take in to

account the aesthetics of their

spacesuits as well as their functionality

in order to appeal to their customer

base (i.e. really rich people who are

used to luxury), and may turn to

fashion houses to collaborate.

discovery channel

by

abhinaya mathivana

tl;dr image recognition apps

are an easy way to find your perfect outfit and ultimately a new

way to spend more money on shopping.

Ever wanted to know where the girl on the tube got her shoes from or where your frenemy found her top in that Instagram photo?

It is now possible thanks to visual search

tools that let you match your photographs

to items online that you can actually buy.

It is basically Shazam for your outfits.

While finding the exact match for your

item in a cluttered image may still be

hard, technology is now at least better at

identifying similar items. And that is ex-

actly what ASOS has managed to launch

on its mobile app.

This basically aims to let users capture

fleeting moments – whether that’s some-

one they pass on the street, a look a friend

is wearing or even a screengrab from In-

stagram or otherwise – and use them to

search through the site’s product lines to

find similar suggestions. With ASOS’s da-

tabase of 85 000 products and 5000 new

ones being added every week, getting a

close match may not be that hard after all.

The tool is shown as a camera icon in the

search bar of the ASOS app. Tapping on it

then invites customers to either take a

picture or upload one from their library to

have it find similar products. Eighty per-

cent of ASOS’s traffic in the UK comes

from mobile devices. “We know this is

where our customers are and it’s how

they interact with us every day, so we are

always looking for ways that are mobile

native to make their experience even bet-

ter,” said Andy Berks, ASOS’ digital prod-

uct director.

ASOS is not the only one jumping on this

bandwagon. Pinterest and eBay are also

working on their own visual search tools.

Pinterest rolled out Lens earlier this year

as a way to boost its status as a shopping

platform. eBay announced its own take on

the feature which is bound to be released

anytime soon.

The best part about all this is that this

experience is only bound to get better.

Now that fashion retailers like ASOS are

engaging external third-party tech com-

panies in their endeavours, the fast pro-

gress in the tech will be directly reflected

in the shopping experience. Using ma-

chine learning, the AI gathers more and

more data about its performance. The

more it gets used, the better it gets

trained and the smarter it becomes.

Another notable creation that combines

fashion and tech is mode.ai which aims to

be a personal stylist on your Facebook

messenger. It invites users to rediscover

shopping in a conversational and visual

manner. Trying out mode.ai is extremely

fascinating. It allows you to chat with a

bot about current trending looks, where

to get them and search with specific cate-

gories. One can literally search “sheer

maxi dress under 30 pounds” and get fil-

tered results from hundreds of fashion

outlets.

The future for fashion and technology is

one that is intertwined. Beyond search

tools, one can look forward to improved

AI-powered recommendation engine,

which use big data and smart algorithms

to learn customers’ preferences over time.

All of this means your online shopping

adventures will not only be extremely

convenient, but also get highly personal-

ized down the road.

where your frenemy found her top in

IC FAD IN REVIEW

IC FAD was founded last year as a

counterpoint to the STEM life that Im-

perial students devote themselves to

and we had an overwhelming response

from the student body– in our first

twelve months, over 240 students

joined the society and we grew our

mailing list to over 600 students,

thanks to some amazing fresher’s fair/

events and dedicated committee.

IC FAD had a busy first year with non-

stop events throughout the terms! To

give a quick summary: we had 1 in-

credibly tasty Christmas dinner, pub-

lished 2 campus-wide magazines, host-

ed 3 keynote industry speakers, threw

4 socials (some joint with other Lon-

don universities) and co-ordinated at

least 5 trips to fashion exhibitions in

London! Not to mention the most im-

portant event of all - the unforgettable

pie ce de re sistance: Imperial College

Charity Fashion Show 2017(ICCFS).

ICCFS' core purpose is to raise funds

for charity in a way that allows us to

showcase our favourite fashion and

talents for the Imperial student body.

Last year we raised more than £2,000

and we hope to raise over double that

at this summer’s show titled Physcho-

tropica -mixing up Havana feels and

urban fashion, with plenty of Pin a Co-

ladas!

Other upcoming events we have lined

up this year for our members with

fleeky threads, include a meet & greet

bar night with complementary drinks,

the fresher’s fashion society party with

UCL, KCL & QMUL at the buzzin’ Cuck-

oo Club in Piccadilly, a workshop at the

V&A on careers in the industry and the

London University Modest Fashion

Show hosted at SOAS – tickets on sale

soon!

Don’t forget to sign up for membership

on the union website to get updates

and grab your tickets first for all the

amazing events planned for 2017/8.

AUTUMN/WINTER

SWEATPANTS ARE A SIGN OF

DEFEAT. YOU LOST CONTROL OF

YOUR LIFE SO YOU BOUGHT SOME

SWEATPANTS.

@IC_FAD