Cruelty-Free Finery
Re-imagining Traditional Bavarian Accessories
Experiments in 3D printing to replace animal products
I) Project Summary
What is it? What’s its purpose? What problem am I solving?
In German-speaking cultures, tracht is a style of traditional garb. In Bavaria, the southernmost province of Germany, this includes lederhosen for men and dirndls for women. Accompanying accessories are often made of animal products, such as leather, fur, tooth, horn and hair. Each item is symbolic ; traditionally, accessories represented status or acted as a talisman, thought to bring good luck. For instance, a nimble hunter, may have worn elaborate charivari belts with deer horns pendants, coins, animal teeth indicate his success or hope for a good hunting season. Women still wear charivari belts today, and some include animal products too.
Similarly, the buttons on trachten vests are made of silver, pewter or deer horn.
And Felt caps often include a pin made of goats beard.
My final project will ponder alternatives to the traditional materials used in men’s tracht. In an attempt to use cruelty-free materials, I’ll present men’s accessories made, not from deer horn or goat beard, but from 3D printed replicas.
How can 3D printing be applied to Bavarian tracht, such that the traditional appearance remains the same but that innovative materials upgrade its ethical footprint?
This project will support the custom of wearing tracht in the modern day, with the understanding that the traditional lifestyles that once underpinned its sartorial expressions- inclusive of hunting- are defunct today.
By offering 3D printed replicas, lederhosen accessories and felt cap pins remain unaltered in appearance but benefit from an upgrade in ethical materials.
What challenges do I anticipate?
Printing hair may be a challenge. In its feel and even appearance, I expect it to be far from a perfect replica of the animal version.
I expect modeling deer horn in Autodesk Fusion 360 to be an arduous task, too. How to render the complex facets of the horn true to reality?
Finally, I imagine joining the deer horn to the goat beard to be tricky. I can’t say how many prototypes I’ll be making before reaching an end-product…
In what ways does it relate to my other work in Entrepreneurial Design, Design Leadership, and/or UX?
Product design- in Entrepreneurial design class, we have learned the theory behind the product cycle. From conception of the product design to implementation, we are beginning to put this into practice in group work. This project can act as an expression of product re-design.
User Experience- by creating a replica true to nature, my hope is that Bavarians will embrace these accessories as an alternative in material but not in tradition or fashion.
II) Key components of my project
What resources, skills, and technologies are needed to realize it?
Ultimaker 3 (3D printer)- in conjunction with Autodesk Fusion 360, and Cura (slicing tool to prep the 3D model for printing).
PLA Filament in any color
Spray paint to simulate deer horn and goat beard
Fabric- traditional woolen felt, leather, cotton broadcloth
Sewing skills to create a prototype.
Industrial sewing machine- thread, needle, bobbin.
What kind of fidelity do I want to achieve?
Deerhorn buttons have a fairly standard appearance. In fact, these buttons are a form of parametric design: they vary slightly in shape but have strong commonalities.
I would like to bring together tradition and innovation. As such, I want the accessories to look like the real thing, so that Bavarians would wear it and proudly show off its innovative nature.
What research have I done and/or still need to do?
Tracht is another form of parametric design, in that, a dirndle or lederhosen have prominent features that make each unmistakable. But, as is common with traditional clothing, there are slight variations according to region or even village from which they hail. Similarly, I need to learn about the variations of deer horn and goat beard accessories and their historical contexts. Then I have to choose one and justify my choice.
Milestones you have hit thus far and what you plan to do in order to realize it in the next 3–4 weeks.
I have taken Intro to sewing and industrial sewing at the Idea Forge; I have used Fusion 360, Rhino, Cura and the Ultimaker 3 to bring a design idea to a physical product. And I have learned about the product life cycle and practiced it in another class.
But now I need to practice and refine these skills in application of another product design.
Parts and supplies
Order felt swatches
Purchase cotton broadcloth
Purchase spray paint
Make a spatter workshop (Set up a cardboard box on its side, cut out small squares of cardboard to set the accessory on and rotate).
Where do you feel you are lacking in skill and need assistance?
I will need to allot time for learning new processes. Namely, how to print hair, how to design deer horn texture and how to spray paint to mimic deer horn and goat beard hair.
Let’s see where this goes….
