Sensewear is an Italian
designer duo consisting of Ema and Ivan, both graduates of Polythecnic in Milan
. Ema
is specialized in furniture and textiles design, but worked in several fields
as a trend researcher, strategist, interior designer, and educator. Her
expertise encouraged further exploration at the intersection between product
design and fashion and gave birth to the sensewear project. Ivan is an industrial
designer with a multifaceted experience in product, interior design, furniture,
branding, interaction, generative design, and digital fabrication. He is an expert
in modular structures and patterns that are used to generate innovative open
source products and enhance material performances. We first met in China, where
we used to work for the same firm and we have been together in work and life
since then. Almost ten years ago we landed in the Arab Emirates where in 2012
we founded Caravan,
a design collective with a multidisciplinary approach, whose members share
common interests in cultural, material and social aspects of a globalized
community, trying to re-establish a balance among being, having and doing.
Blending digital-fabrication and artisanal expertise Caravan’s projects aim at
creating awareness of heritage to face contemporary challenges. Each work is
infused with pragmatic materialism smoothed by subtle metaphors, inspiring its
audience reaction alongside empathic participation. Their approach is
characterised by strong multidisciplinary and crossbreed process that connects
diverse industries towards new unexpected opportunities. Ema and Ivan currently
teach design at Ajman University, one of the oldest higher education
institution in the United Arabs Emirates.
Sensewear will present their work during the FASHION
MAKES SENSE LAB, on June 30 – July 2 at SAM-decorfabriek (free entrance).
Where are you
from? Where are you based at this moment?
We are both Italians coming from Lombardy,
the region that makes our country worldwide renowned for its vibrant design philosophy
and high end industrial manufacturing; although not the typical idyllic
postcard of rural golden wheat hills you are used to. We have been based in the
United Arab Emirates for 9 years now.
When did you realise you wanted to work in a
field of (fashion) design?
In our work we are quite experimental,
we try not to get trapped into compartmental definitions, working on the edge of
several disciplines. The only constant in our work is the narrative we based
our collective on. Caravan is a trip across diverse cultures and media, where
the process takes control over the outcome. Whenever we start a project, we
don’t know what is going to be in the end, with sensewear it happened to be the
same, our objective was to involve sensory therapies in people’s daily
activities and a garment collection came up as the most natural solution among
several other possibilities. We embraced the challenge with enthusiasm and even
though we are not fashion designers, we share the same tools and methodology. We
teamed up with professionals working under our direction and in the end we are
quite satisfied by the results of the collection and now we are pushing it through
an injection of technology to make it responsive.
What are so far your main achievements in your career?
Our
collection won several prizes: the Lexus Design Award 2015, the Wearable
Technologies Competition at the Venice Design Week 2016, the AXAPPP Health Tech
Future Award. We exhibited in Milan, Tokyo, Moscow, Dubai, London and now we
are going to be in the Netherland. It’s a great satisfaction although we are
aware that there is still a long way to go!
In what projects are you involved at this moment?
We are
mainly working in developing and promoting the sensewear, wearables are
becoming the next big thing, but we are also on some collaborative projects
with experimental theater performers and we are active in social design,
working with disadvantaged communities, a quite mature thematic in Europe, but
still underestimated territory of exploration in the Middle East.
What are your biggest struggles as a young designer/artist?
Ehm…young?
Trying to escape conventional labels that constrain your work into boundaries
of a tiny specific field sometimes makes people diffident about how much focused
you are, even because we also renounced to a recognizable signature style it is
difficult to grow an organic audience. Still we believe the worst struggle is
to find financial support for experimental non for profit projects.
What do you love the most about your profession?
Our
profession is our passion and our life. We strongly believe underestimated
design’s potential could make a big change in everyone life rather than being just
a luxurious patina on the top of ordinary products. Design give us the
possibility to satisfy our curiosity, to explore everyday new environments, new
techniques, new materials, new media, new places and new people that in the end
are the real objective of our projects.
How would you define fashion?
Fashion
is the real foundation of popular culture since it is the most immediate way to
communicate and express yourself. In some regions homologation makes it a
standardized status statement that sometime becomes vulgar exhibitionism,
expression of wealth without culture. Luckily the fashion system as we know it,
basing its success on such extravagances, started to show its limits
and other more grounded experiences are becoming sensibly prominent on scene,
Fashion Clash is one of them.
What fascinates/inspires you and why?
People,
nature, math and chemistry, all the biggest contradiction in life are really a
great source of inspiration that help us understanding the complexity we are
living in. Dubai and the Emirates are full of such contradictions, the tallest
buildings in the worlds are towering on narrow traditional alleys were
deliveries comes on hand pushed carts; sometimes you might start your trip on a
7 lanes motorway that narrows down to an unpaved rural road with cows and
camels crossing your way; sometimes you could feel being in a Swiss financial
district and in a matter of minutes you could find yourself transported in
Calcutta.
Finding your own distinctive voice can be difficult, where and how do you
find your personal creativity (before you start designing/during the design
process)?
Design as a drawing activity is the
last resource, narration, discussion, storytelling, scouting, researching, documenting.
Empathy, when you establish that contact than you know you have the right
motivation to do a great job.
What challenges did you face during the design process?
People
they don’t want to embrace challenge sometimes and they talk to designer with
already something in their mind; they just need someone to visualize it. To
makes them confident and reassure about your competence it is important to get
out of any misunderstanding.
What do you want to communicate with your work in general?
Design is for all! …and fashion
too!
Can you tell us
something about the project you will present at the FASHIONCLASH Festival?
Sensewear is a collection of
clothes and accessories that emphasize the use of senses. Their primary purpose
is to stimulate and improve awareness of our senses, while training us to
better use them all. Some Sensewear items are designed to mute physical sensations,
some to sharpen them. The collection is inspired by therapies applied to
Sensory Processing Disorders and developed with the technical support of
therapists assisting people affected with autism. Anxiety, stress, panic attack
are most typical autism’s symptoms but more and more people suffers them,
therefore the collection is not addressed only to people with disabilities but
it is aiming at enhancing everyone hectic urban life. The aim of the project is
to design an inclusive collection that could be attractive and wearable by
anyone and does not stigmatize a person affected by a disorder.
Why have you decided to participate at FASHIONCLASH Festival?
Because our design will definitely
seem out of place at any conventional fashion show, as much as at a regular
healthcare business fair. Since contamination, not to be confused with
weirdness, is our playground we found ourselves perfectly in line with
FASHIONCLASH mission.
FASHIONCLASH is already working on future themes. What are the topics you
find interesting?
Inclusive
design, design for all, wearables, contamination among fashion and furniture,
multipurpose, habitable garments, transformable, magnetic, performing costumes,
cross cultures, cross-religions, emergency, hi-tech nomadism.
What are your thoughts regarding ‘religion and fashion’?
Very
interesting question! We are living in Dubai, a place where 200 nationalities
are co-existing, and among them a lot of different religions! I believe fashion
has no boundaries even though, sometimes fashion and religion can really
challenge each other.
Does
fashion makes sense to you?
Recently fashion in general is a big mess and I’m
looking for some sense in the product I buy and design. Unfortunately fashion
is one of the most polluted industries and I hope new generations can make a
difference!
What are your thoughts on making ‘fashion’
more environmentally-friendly?
Ah! That’s what I’ve meant! It’s a real emergency!
What are your thoughts on the senses in
relation to the human body?
Well sensewear
express fully this answer!
Do you think that fashion can contribute to
a better world / better well-being, and what do you do to make a difference?
We design products that can improve people’s life.
What senses are engaged in your creation process?
We try
to include all of them, but I believe the most important is touch.
How does technology change your creation process?
Technology
is a very important source of inspiration. Ideas can come from technological
innovations, new production teschnologies, new materials. We like to be
experimental and we usually try to link new technologies to old craft.
What’s a standard day for you?
Up by 7, breakfast, late to Viola’s school by 8 (Viola is our daughter),
late to work by 9, late lunch by 2, we are constantly living on an average 15
minute late, will catch up on Sunday! Insha’allah!
Vegan,
vegetarian, healthy diet or any food will do?
We tried gluten, diary, eggs free,
but what a sacrifice and what to do with our last compulsive grocery?
What’s your
favourite song at the moment?
OK GO – the one moment. The video
clip is amazing as all their previous ones. (ivan)
Best
Tv-show/movie at the moment?
Black Mirror
What is your bad
habit?
Ivan smokes! Ema hates the smell of
cigarettes!
Are you a people's person or a loner?
We love
to have guests and cook for them.
Do you have a
pet?
Better not to, since we are living
in the desert. We enjoy camels in our backyard!
Your favourite
quote?
Imagination is more important than
knowledge – Albert Einstein
What’s your
favourite city?
Every time we visit a new one we
fall in love with it…this summer we’ll find our next crash
What/Who do you
miss the most when you are not at home?
Food!
If you could move
anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I’m not lying if I say The
Netherlands!! I feel it’s a good place to live. Amsterdam gives me the idea that
it is a human scale city where you can live well either single or as a family
What do you enjoy
the most in life?
Exploring the culinary landscape of
every country and how it relates to culture and language
What’s your
guilty pleasure?
Chocolate!
Who is your
biggest example/idol?
Yves Behar, Victor Papanek,
Buckminster Fuller, Madonna, Dolce & Gabbana.
Favourite
magazine?
Frame, Monocle… Unfortunately, we
lack independent magazines in UAE.
Your favourite
hashtags #?
#
You favorite social media app?
Instagram, zomato
Instagram account
you think deserves more attention?
Jahnk0y very inspiring work!
Find more about Ema and Ivan's work here: sensewear
