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STUDENT NEWS/AWARDS National GOTYA Awards 2012 Bachelor Art (Textile Design) Graduate, Sarah Strickland won the national DIA (Design Institute of Australia) in the Textile division. Ms Strickland has also been awarded joint winner of the AGOTYA National award for excellence - the top DIA design prize for design graduates. Autumn & Winter Exhibition Boros is one of several RMIT Textile, Design and Development graduates whose work has been on display as

part of an autumn and winter exhibition at Westfield, Airport West. The young Richmond designer’s collection is based on fabrics that have been screen-printed with summer-inspired motifs and made into fashion accessories. Boros’s collection is titled Atmosphere and she described the pieces as “delicate”, “ethereal” but “durable”. The full-time designer said textiles and fabric design was hard work, but it was something she loved. The Westfield centre is also exhibiting a collection of home furnishings by graduate Elouise Roberts. Her work includes luxuriously coloured florals and contrasting geometric coordinates. Story by Linh Ly. http://moonee-valley-leader.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/a-passion-for-fashion-in-airport-west/

Scarves support traditional Laos silk makers RMIT University textile design students have handprinted designs onto hand-woven silk scarves to raise money for a not-for-profit organisation working with traditional silk producers in Laos.

The sale of one scarf will enable Lao Sericulture to buy three water filters for remote villages that undertake traditional silk production and weaving in Laos.

The Scarf Project - a collaboration between Lao Sericulture, silk co-operative Mulberries and second-year Bachelor of

Arts (Textile Design) students - was facilitated by Moral Fairground, an organisation that raises awareness and promotes fair trade and ethical business in Australia.

Kommaly

Chanthavong from Mulberries, a small-scale fair trade co-operative in Laos, visited RMIT at the start of the project to speak to students about her work and what fair trade meant to the small communities and isolated villages in Laos.

Verity Prideaux, Lecturer in the Bachelor of Arts (Textile Design), said the interaction with Ms Chanthavong raised questions for the students about the production and use of silk fabric within the textile industry.

"Students researched, experienced and compared the larger and smaller ends of silk production, working towards a rationale for their personal ethics and choices related to purchasing and using silk fabrics for their printed designs."

The $150 scarves supporting Lao Sericulture can be bought from the Moral Fairground website. SUSTAINABILITY NEWS

Commune @ RMIT Brunswick Explore your creativity and celebrate the global world of fashion and textiles at RMIT University’s annual sustainability festival and conference day, Commune @ RMIT Brunswick on Wednesday 18 July. Commune @ RMIT Brunswick explores the forward thinking and exciting impact of fashion and textiles in the local and global environment. The day will feature speakers, creative workshops and exciting market stalls selling textiles, crafts, reworked garments as well as organic and vegan food.

IN THIS ISSUE

Student News/Awards

• National GOTYA Awards 2012

• Autumn & Winter Exhibition

• Scarves support traditional

Laos silk makers

Staff Achievements

• Paper on Skin’ Award

Sustainability Award

• Commune @ RMIT Brunswick

• Fairly Arty display

Industry News

• Industry partner wins prestigious award

Research

• Sizing up Australia – is Target’s 3D body scanner the shape of things to come Defence Materials Technology Centre

DATES FOR YOUR

DIARY � Commune – 18th July

� Open Day – 12th August

RMIT fashion graduate Julia Boros with her fashions at the Westfield Airport West shopping centre. PIC: TONY GOUGH

Design by Ella Schwartz

Design by Ella Schwartz

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Title: Commune @ RMIT Brunswick Date: Wednesday 18 July 2012 Time: 12:00pm until 6:00pm Location: RMIT University 25 Dawson Street, Brunswick Follow commune on facebook http://www.facebook.com/events/401760703180713/ to get up-to-date information about exciting speakers and sessions as they are confirmed in the lead up to Commune @ RMIT Brunswick For information on booking a stall or sponsorship opportunities please contact Patricia Brien on patricia.brien@rmit.edu.au Fairly Arty display The Bachelor of Art (Textile Design) program was recently featured in the 'Fairly Arty' exhibition at Federation Square, as part of Fairtrade Fortnight events for 2012. The "Conversations" digital print project was featured on our own Bachelor Art Textile Design 'Zero Waste' modular exhibition stand, showcasing the program's sustainability related achievements and creative projects. 'Conversations' – an industry project with Fair Trade and Moral Fairground aimed to start a conversation around how we as designers deal with the multi-dimensional aspects of sustainability and design. How do we develop (and ensure) truly ethical designs? Above all, how do we communicate ‘serious’ design themes related to sustainability in an appealing and creative manner? Students developed contemporary conversational print designs for a socially conscious fashion consumer. Reflecting an aspect of sustainability and/or Fair Trade, the designs creatively explored hand-generated artwork, translated for digital print outcomes. Fair Trade fortnight - part of the Victorian Fair Trade Festival - 5th - 20th May Background on the fair trade festival: The Victorian Fair Trade Festival is a platform for fair trade businesses to showcase their products and services; (Source: http://moralfairground.com.au/vichighlights.html) INDUSTRY

Industry partner wins prestigious award United Bonded Fabrics (UBF) has been inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame at a gala event held on May 3rd, 2012 which celebrated those elite manufacturing organizations who have demonstrated a long term commitment to manufacturing excellence and continual innovation.

“It came as quite a surprise when we were approached,” said Jim Liaskos, Managing Director, “And are delighted to have recognition for the hard work of those many people in our organization who are committed to making high quality products for our customers.” he said. UBF is the nation’s leading non-woven textile products manufacturer, and supplies a diverse range of products under the Crestell® and Tontine®*brands from pillows and thermal insulation to geotextiles and hygienic wipes, automotive felts and carpet underlay. UBF commenced operations almost 50 years ago in 1963, but parts of its business have a heritage which reaches back to the 1870’s. The School of Fashion and Textiles would like to congratulate United Bonded for this award and looks forward to continued relationships with United Bonded. RESEARCH Sizing up Australia – is Target’s 3D body scanner the shape of things to come? A 3D body-scanning initiative announced by the retail chain Target Australia has attracted extensive media interest. Not least because it has been trumpeted as Australia’s largest-ever body-shape survey using 3D body-scanning technology. At a cost of A$1m, the project will involve scanning up to 20,000 men and women using millimetre-wave technology – the same technology used in airport security. In a process that takes around a minute, and can be done fully clothed, the AlvaScan scanning booth collects data from 200,000 points on the customer’s body, determining size and shape and creating a 3D image of the subject’s body. The scanner has been used in the past by Levi’s in the US and Marks and Spencer in the UK. The incentive for consumers is obvious: in return for their time they will get a print-out of their exact body measurements, making it easier to buy clothes in future. For the retailer, the data will prove invaluable for determining the most common shapes and for producing size charts – information that will feed directly into clothing development and sales nationwide. Given the much-publicised growth in online shopping at the expense of the traditional bricks-and-mortar shopping environment, there’s much to gain from generating in-store customer traffic around a technology experience. To read the full story visit ”The Conversation” http://theconversation.edu.au/sizing-up-australia-is-targets-3d-body-scanner-the-shape-of-things-to-come-6690 By Kate Kennedy | Published: 02/05/2012

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STAFF ACHIEVEMENTS ‘Paper dress wins art competition RMIT University textile design teacher Mr Douglas McManus has won the inaugural Burnie Wearable Paper Art Competition 2012 - ‘Paper on Skin’, held on Friday 25 May at the Burnie Regional Art Gallery on Tasmania’s North West Coast. Beating out entrants from across Australia, Mr McManus won the Betta Milk Open award for designing and creating a wearable garment made of 80% paper collecting a $2500 prize money award. “The idea for these pieces evolved from my research for a collaborative industry project, with the Yakka Company, using laser technology to cut 17denier nylon fabric for the Australian Defence Force.” “The principal of engraving onto such a fine thin surface has led me to further explore thermo manipulation of laser engraved materials.” Mr Mc Manus said. “The challenges of making garments out of paper that can be worn on the body and perform like fabric took many months of research. The fact that the engraved paper garments drape and flow like woven material impressed all three judges at the event.”

Douglas McManus paper on skin work

Photographer: Garry Conroy-cooper

Keith Cowlishaw, Head of School, Fashion and Textiles said the win is a great reward of the talent and dedication Mr McManus has in the area of textile design. Douglas’ work explores and redefines the design boundaries for digital printing. “The pieces are quite outstanding and are affine example of creative practice in Textile Design. The school’s new digital

print centre will further enhance our research capability in digital print and provide inspiration for the Textile industry in Australia.”

The Burnie Wearable Paper Art Competition is an initiative of the Burnie Arts Council, on the North West Coast of Tasmania.

Douglas McManus work parade.

Photographer: Jessica Turale