The bachelor's and master's degree in Fashion & Technology at the University of Art and Design Linz, Austria, has been combining design and research for future-oriented, sustainable and inclusive fashion design for seven years now. Under the direction of Professor Ute Ploier and university assistant Peter Holzinger, Genevieve worked on unique designs for gowns and regalia at the Anton Bruckner Private University last academic year. An individual design was created for each division of the Anton Bruckner Private University for Music, Drama and Dance. As an overall picture, the different gowns look like a symphony of bright colors and shapes.

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The three genres of music, drama and dance themselves provided the inspiration for the respective textile prints:

• Anton Bruckner's “Locus iste”,

• a quote from Peter Handke's play Kaspar “I want to become someone like someone else once was. And I want to become someone like no one has ever been."

• the poetic image of “the sound of a freshly peeled, fragrant tangerine”
   

Using creative programming software, Genevieve converted these sounds, words and images into colors, textures and shapes and simulated them as virtual prototypes. The pattern for the robes is designed to create zero waste and is derived from the Fibonacci sequence. In the spirit of sustainable fashion design, the gowns are printed and produced from ecological fabrics in Europe.

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“This collaboration impressively shows how technologies in fashion today can combine creativity and sustainability: Our MA graduate Genevieve Howard has generated beautiful textile prints using digital tools. The prototypes were simulated virtually, saving material and transport routes. A zero-waste cut, ecological fabrics, production in Europe and respectful teamwork are important, sustainable dimensions of this project,” says Ute Ploier,  head of the Fashion & Technology course.

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Textile design: Genevieve Howard MA
Virtual simulation: Sandra-Laura Axinte
Pattern development and production: Univ.-Ass. Mag. Peter Holzinger
Project management: Univ.-Prof. Mag. Ute Ploier

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