Black Phoenix was showcased as part of NuVu’s Fantasy FashionTech Collection on the runway at the Emerging Trends Show during NY Fashion Week 2014 and the Emerging Trends Show during Boston Fashion Week 2014.

Black Phoenix embodies the idea of transformation and renewal. Based on the “Phoenix,” the Greek mythological bird that died in a blaze of fire only to be reborn from its ashes, Black Phoenix continually reshapes and reforms through its generative structure, compacting and stretching to form itself anew.

Have you ever had a cool idea for a machine (a cylindrical rolling robot? a dragon that spits out popcorn? a sensor-driven robotic jellyfish?) that you wanted to make, but didn’t know how? They might say, “there’s an app for that,” but if it’s beyond the screen of your pre-packaged device, then there isn’t. So, what are you gonna do? Are you going to wait for some company to make it, are you going to give up, or do you want to do it yourself? The fact is, the tools do exist to get your idea into reality — and the secret is, they’re so easy to use, that any of you can do it. In ten days, we’ll show you how!

In this studio, students will learn the basics of electronics, microcontrollers and computer programming (using the Arduino environment).  They will also learn how to integrate the computer with external sensors (from simple switches and buttons to heat/temperature, light, gas, touch) and actuators (such as motors, lights, speakers, solenoids, valves, fans) to allow them to turn their ideas into sci-fi machines without having to depend on anyone else to do it for them! We will empower students with the physics (electricity and magnetism — booyah!), engineering, 3D modeling, robotics, and programming skills you need to bring your science fiction vision to reality!

NuVu's “Nature-Tech” Collection

Emerging Trends Show, Boston Fashion Week, 2013

Within nature there are many beautiful forms, colors and designs: from the tiniest sea caterpillars exploding with striking colors, to the mighty redwood trees standing gracefully with their elegant structure. Nature is full of beauty and fascinating patterns. This year, NuVu Studio’s Nature-Tech Collection takes inspiration from nature and its fascinating and complex patterns and blends this with the fabrication technology. The Nature-Tech Collection is meant to inspire, create awe, and involve some level fantasy, and create a sense of wonder and illusion.

Using the combined power of digital design (computer aided drafting, 3d modeling) and rapid prototyping tools (laser cutters and 3d printers), the NuVu Studio designers have developed new and unique patterns and forms for the garments included in the Nature-Tech Collection that otherwise would not be possible through traditional methods and processes.  The collection uses a breadth of materials including various industrial materials made accessible through the digital fabrication methods such as plywood, polycarbonate, renewable bioplastic polylactic acid (PLA), and High-density polyethylene (HDPE).

The Nature-Tech Collection is composed of five looks: Pyramidic, Frost Dress, Avian Poncho, Body Accordion, and Jellyfish Hat.

Jellyfish Hat

The Jellyfish Hat is inspired by the jellyfish that inhabit our curious imaginations, and exist in that place between real and make-believe where strange creatures dwell. The Jellyfish Hat A place, which for me, is filled with soft lights and hazy colors, a place with delicate movements and soft pulses. I feel that jellyfish are most like the images in my head with their simplistic beauty and breakable, other worldly movements. I wanted to create a piece that crossed the border between the “jellyfish” of my head and the jellyfish of the waters.

In order to create this piece on the edge between my head and the real live world, I needed to use innovative materials that have not yet made their full fledged debut into the fashion world. I needed materials that still held a type of mystery. For this reason I decided to not create my piece out of typical material made for apparel, such as cloth, but out of fiber optic thread and plastic. However because I wanted to use material I was inexperienced with I had many troubles in creating this piece. I had to work through numerous prototypes, made with paper, plastic and patterns, made on Illustrator and Rhino, in order to create my piece. Luckily I had lots of help from Saba, Tess and Saeed so that I can say that I am at least not totally ashamed of my final product.

Photos by Romana Vystova & Naf Visser

NuVu's “Nature-Tech” Collection

Emerging Trends Show, Boston Fashion Week, 2013

Within nature there are many beautiful forms, colors and designs: from the tiniest sea caterpillars exploding with striking colors, to the mighty redwood trees standing gracefully with their elegant structure. Nature is full of beauty and fascinating patterns. This year, NuVu Studio’s Nature-Tech Collection takes inspiration from nature and its fascinating and complex patterns and blends this with the fabrication technology. The Nature-Tech Collection is meant to inspire, create awe, and involve some level fantasy, and create a sense of wonder and illusion.

Using the combined power of digital design (computer aided drafting, 3d modeling) and rapid prototyping tools (laser cutters and 3d printers), the NuVu Studio designers have developed new and unique patterns and forms for the garments included in the Nature-Tech Collection that otherwise would not be possible through traditional methods and processes.  The collection uses a breadth of materials including various industrial materials made accessible through the digital fabrication methods such as plywood, polycarbonate, renewable bioplastic polylactic acid (PLA), and High-density polyethylene (HDPE).

The Nature-Tech Collection is composed of five looks: Pyramidic, Frost Dress, Avian Poncho, Body Accordion, and Jellyfish Hat.

Frost Dress

The Frost Dress is inspired by icicles and frost found in nature. The Frost Dress is made up of 344 different layers of laser-cut icicle-shaped fabric (frost) that was assembled by hand. The chiffon and mesh layered fabric has a frilly and feminine look that also creates the appearance of ice and frost. To balance the femininity and softness of the fabric, the shoulder and bustle frost pieces are made of lenticular polycarbonate that provide a firm shine. They hope this will add a strong contrast between hard and soft in their dress.

Photos by Romana Vystova & Naf Visser

Students in the Fantasy Fashion studio will have the opportunity to create fashion pieces that will be worn by professional models on the runway at Boston Fashion Week in Fall 2014! NuVu has an ongoing partnership with the managers of the Emerging Trends Show during Boston Fashion Week. The students from the Fantasy Fashion studio will be able to see their pieces on the runway and bring their families to this high profile event. (Of note: The blog posts below provide a summary of the 2013 Emerging Trends Show and NuVu's participation in it)

Before the Pebble smart watch and Google Glass, there were interactive costumes. Interactive costumes for performance artists, dancers, and musicians brought attention to the possibilities of wearable technology and introduced an element of fantasy by using technologies such as microcontrollers, LEDs, fiber optics, sensors, and motors. The fashion-tech revolution also teamed up engineers and designers to think and imagine like never before and create conceptually unique and visually dazzling pieces. Given today’s versatile and programmable technologies, fashion-tech is becoming one of the most cutting-edge industries!

In this studio, you will explore new techniques and concepts for wearable technologies and interactive fashion. Students will create and develop high-tech fashion pieces, including (but not limited to) designs that are suitable for dancers-performers-musicians. You will use 3d fabrication tools, such as laser-cutters and 3d printers, and 3d modeling software, such as Rhino and Sketchup, as part of the production process, incorporating unique materials, complex patterns, and fantasy-based designs in your final pieces!

Focus skills/subjects/technologies:

  Fashion Design

  Digital Fabrication (Laser-cutting, 3d Printing)

  Computer Programming

  Electronics

  Pattern-making

  2D and 3D Modeling

  Adobe Illustrator

  Robotics (Arduino)

We are really happy with the finished product : we set out to make a bag that would comfort people that people would want to hug and smooth them, and I think we exceled very well becuase we made a bag that embraced both of our ideas as a whole. As the bag began to take place and evolved, we included other ideas as well. The ideas that we both argreed on made was apart of the bag and the ones we didn't argee on did not go on the bag. As a result, we would not change very much on the bag. If we did the bag again, Jana would make a better outside effect that makes the inside have a better effect as well. Overall,  we are really happy with the finished product, which not only viabrates like the annitial plan,but also plays a small tune that only you can hear.