This article was taken from the July 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.
Jule Waibel turns spectacular geometries into wearable -- even fashionable -- sculptures. The German-born, London-based designer started work on her Enfaltung ("unfold" or "expand") dress as part of her degree in productdesign at the Royal College of Art. "Geometry and foldinghas always fascinated me," says Waibel, 28. "Something which can go from a tiny space to [something] much bigger."
Waibel makes her dresses with Tyvek, a synthetic, polyethylene-based fabric that's similar to paper. "It's an amazing material, because you can print on it but you can't tear it and it's waterproof," she says. Each dress is designed in Adobe Illustrator before being printed on three-metre sheets. "It expands and contracts, like a lung," she explains. "A centimetre of difference changes the movement of the whole thing." Each dress then takes ten hours to construct by hand.
Waibel is planning to release a fabric-based version and is hunting for materials. "Tyvek is so uncomfortable," she laughs. "The fabric ones are amazing. You can sit down!"
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
