2024 Bridges Conference Fashion Show
LAURENTIUS LAB.
Designers
Biography
LAURENTIUS.LAB designs new artifacts combining art, fashion and mathematics. Loe Feijs is a scientist in residence at Fashion Tech Farm and as a professor emeritus of Industrial Design he teaches in the Future Everyday group at TU/e. Loe has his own label LAURENTIUS LAB operating from Sittard, The Netherlands. His vision is that the combination of art, fashion and mathematics is a rich playing field worth exploring. For this project, we acknowledge the cooperation and contributions by LABELEDBY., Fashion Tech Farm, and EPSON Nederland.
Looks
About the look
Pied-de-Pythagoras
Wool of Campina heath sheep and recycled polyester printed by EPSON sublimation print.
2024
Symmetry and mathematics are sources of beauty in art and in fashion. However, conveying the underlying ideas to a wider audience requires background knowledge which is not readily available, making math fashion a difficult endeavor . This outfit demonstrates how an ancient and well-known mathematical statement can be turned into a fashion piece. To show the statement with most clarity the garment is multifunctional, serving as an interior decoration piece when not worn. It is a coat whose form is an example of Pythagoras’ theorem with three large square pieces with areas of 5×5, 4×4, and 3×3 blocks. The large square is the back piece whereas the two others flap over the arms and partially cover the chest. The rectangular triangle in between has an opening which comfortably slides over the head. We found that the concept could be translated to fabric while including both classical and innovative technologies such as ecological wool of local sheep, quilting, and sublimation printing. Another theme which blends in naturally is Pied-de-poule (houndstooth), so checking this instance of the theorem can be done by counting fashionable Pied-de-poule tiles instead of simple blocks. The garment was shown during the Epson Award show in 2024 (Eindhoven, The Netherlands) where it was received with great enthusiasm.