Design for Needs

For this project, I was tasked with coming up with a design that would solve a need for a group of people. Quite frankly I was stumped. I had no idea what need was on brand for me and something I could resonate to. Until it hit me! With rainy season approaching, I realized I didn't have any jackets with a hood big enough to fit my hair. Right now, my hair is the largest it's ever been and I love it, so that made me want to create futuristic rainwear with structural hoods to protect not only my hair but my community's hair. I present to you Soul Rain!

Once again, I wanted to get my ideas on paper so here is my preliminary thinking.

For this project, I was inspired by a lot of cuturally relevant black topics. I was influenced by the 60s and mod futuristic fashion. I was influenced by the 70s and the reclammation of black power and beauty with the celebration of the afro. I was also influenced by the 80s and Grace Jones and her androgynous out-there fashion. The name Soul Rain is a play on words on the iconic black television program Soul Train. Soul Train was about innovation and putting black people in the spotlight like they never had been before. It is a cultural staple in the community and so I thought that it would be a perfect ode to name my afro-futuristic rain wear: Soul Rain

In my first sketch, I immediately knew I wanted to a circular structured hood to resemble the afro. I wanted this main outfit to be a coat with polka dots and circular structured sleeves. For my 2nd garment I was not quite sure what I wanted to do. I played around a lot with shapes until I decided to select the cube as my second structural hood.

For this drawing, some of my constraints were that my figures had to be in motion; I had to create 2 garments showing the back of one of them and then resemble my illustration after another illustrators style. I decided to show the back of the garment with the cube hood because I felt like I would be able to communicate my structural hood best with the cube because I could show the dimension. For my models, it was really important to include darker skin colors and natural hair because this is the community I am apart of and am designing for. 

1ST OUTFIT DETAILS

For this garment, I chose a cube structure for the hood. I wanted to convey that the cube had some depth into it to demonstrate the protection of the hair from the rain. I wanted the material for both the pants and jacket to look like a slick vinyl. I left a lot of white space to achieve this and a white pen. The section that is showing the models skin, I wanted that to be a clear vinyl cut out to show some body but also to be practical for the rain. For the pants, I wanted them to match the futuristic vibe so I decided to add angular fins that connect into a rain boot. 

2ND OUTFIT DETAILS

For my second outfit, I chose the sphere as the structural hood. This shape came directly from the shape of mine and so many other's afro that we are trying to protect from the rain. I wanted this coat to also have the sleek vinyl feel so I tried to achieve this using a lot of highlights and white pen. I wanted to add polka dots because I was inpired by mod fashion in the 60s.

For my typography, I decided to use a font that was reflective of the 70s.

For this project, the illustrator I was influenced by was Rene Gruau. I was inspired by his use of bold colors, negative space, harsh lines, etc. I incorporated his style into my own by using his negative space technique to make the material Iook shiny like vinyl. I also used his use of bold colors in the color of my font, for the shadows at the models feet, and on the 1st garment.