Final treatments on New Blue
The month started off with the finalization of patterns and tailoring of the remaining garments. 1 boilersuit, 2 five panel hats, 2 jackets, 1 pair of pants, 2 shorts, and a fanny bag. Produced in 3 different New Blue materials: New Blue Industry, New Blue Craft Basis, New Blue Craft Black. We have hereby finalized what we had hoped for and even more.
We have now passed the most difficult hurdles: all materials have been produced, the designs made, the patterns finalized and digitalized, and the garments tailored. The last major thing waiting for us was the final treatments to be carried out in collaboration with our partners in Alcoy, Hub Valencia.
We packed the suitcase, which was primarily filled with New Blue prototype garments, and went to Spain. The hot days were spent planning the garment treatments with our partners and before we knew of it we had already started. At first it was quite nerve wracking as there were several factors that could obstruct the final result. Most importantly, it was the first time we did post treatments on New Blue. We had been testing different treatments on smaller samples on our first visit to Alcoy in April. Now we had to do the chosen final treatments on the final garments. Adding to the unknown factors of how the garments would react, the time, effort and money spent on developing these prototypes until this point told us that a lot was indeed at stake.
The garments were treated without any hardware/finishings such as buttons and sippers as these could either be affected by the dye and chemicals or affect the treatment of the garments. These had to be attached when we were back in Berlin. Moreover, we made sure to add some extra samples and textiles to the treatments in order to have some examples of these treatments to share at future dissemination events.
In the end all the garments turned out really well. The New Blue material absorbed the treatments really well, and we got three additional expressions to exemplify what the material can look like. The new designs moreover showcase really well what kind of garments the material can be used for when applied in the fashion industry. We are very pleased and cannot wait to get out and show to the world what we have been working on! Many thanks to our amazing partners in Hub Valencia!
Author: CRE - Wolfgang
Wolfgang is communication manager for Re-FREAM and project manager at CREATIVE REGION Linz & Upper Austria.
