Chiayun Hu

Woven Sculpt is a menswear collection developed from the principles of Japanese joinery and Zen philosophy. Translating the approach of joinery to the methodology of attire making: Joinery is joining two or more woodblocks by only carving them in particular forms to aid assembly with no external assistant. Therefore rather than relying on the general technique of using a sewing machine to make garments, I chose to hand-weave the clothing with no extra support.It is a process of de-construction and re-construction; the name Woven Sculpt comes from the illusion of seamlessness that this process creates by shaping the clothing from being two-dimensional into three dimensions.



The philosophy of Japanese joinery also influenced my approach to pattern creation. Construction is the process of turning two dimensions into three; thus, I designed three-dimensional clothing with patterns in which there are no curves and only 90 or 45 degree angles, enabling them to function like woodblocks.



According to the respect towards nature that is fundamental to Zen philosophy, I only selected natural materials for use in the collection. The only two elements used are woven fabric (woven from linen, jute and cotton yarns) and leather. The aesthetic principles of Zen emphasise balancing irregularity and asymmetry in construction or design to create visually balanced but asymmetrical products or buildings. I followed these principles to shape the silhouettes. Zen also influenced my choices of colour and helped form my own striped pattern. Earthly colours were chosen for the collection with stripes showing the flow of life.

Photographer- Amber Grace Dixon
Hair&Makeup- Natalie Shafii
Model- David Yang