PROTECTIVE AND ADAPTIVE CLOTHING FOR THE DIFFERENTLY ABLED
ABSTRACT
Clothing is a universal aspect of life and a significant form of communication for both the wearer and the observer. It is mostly perceived through vision and it is also true that functional and comfortable clothing do influence the physical and emotional well being of an individual. The dependence on vision results in fashion being difficult to translate to someone who is visually impaired. However this disability does not remove the strongly felt need to project a positive, attractive image and to maintain high standards.
A lot of devices have already been developed to aid the blind in their mobility and communication, but there are very few aids that help them in their clothing selection and purchase. The limited availability of services /products for the blind in the clothing category was the motivation behind this project. A study was undertaken to design clothes with self help features and to access the suitability and comfort of the garments.
Considering the fact that the sense of touch is the vision for the blind, there is a social responsibility to make their life convenient, safe and respectful. The nature of the research was exploratory, it was found that blind individuals also want to be independent in their choice of clothing and do not want to be differentiated from others in their appearance. Highly defined Braille tags, with details such as price, size, co lour and labels attached to the garments were developed. For tactile recognition and aesthetics, French knots and other surface ornamentation was used. Fasteners like Rail Tape, Block Tape, Velcro and non hazardous Snap Buttons were added keeping in mind the ease in dressing up by not only the target group but people having functional mobility challenges. Elements like Glow in the dark were used at the seams for their safety. Reversible and all-around clothing allows the wearer to utilize both side of the garment (front-back), which was found useful by most of the respondents, making it inclusive. The aim is not to make adaptive clothing look different from normal clothing.
Problems faced by visually impaired consumers during clothing selection and purchases
In a paper on “Clothing purchases among visually impaired adolescents” the authors say Clothing selection is all the more difficult if the consumer is visually impaired. Visually impaired children face problems like putting on and off, upper and lower garment, handling fasteners, identification of different garments, colour and pattern selection and identification front/back and right/wrong side of the garment. Folding and arranging clothes in the wardrobe were a common problem among both boys and girls. These problems can be minimized by designing suitable adaptive clothing for the disability as well as to enhance their personality by improving their confidence with respect to clothing. Shopping online may not require assistance if the descriptions are detailed and the site is trusted. But shopping in a store always requires assistance in navigating the store and finding articles to try on. This activity takes too much time and still leaves one without information such as colour, size, and price. The amount of memory used to recall the participants’ wardrobes is a lot. Though there are certain tagging techniques to help distinguish clothes, one must still remember what the tag is relaying.
Research Methodology
Starting with the secondary research through books, journals, articles and websites, and moving forward to the primary research was conducted through visiting blind associations, meeting and interviewing the target audience(visually impaired) directly. Then moving towards ideation and design explorations was done. A design process was then followed based on the data collected from secondary and primary sources to develop a line for both the genders.
Findings
Considering interest in the research areas these could be possible expected outcomes. However researches always throw up some interesting surprises which we intend exploring through further detailed study. The visually impaired need both subjective and objective information related to their clothing. Providing this information in a form which is understandable by them such as Braille or tactile surfaces and textures would make them more independent during their clothing selection, identification and dressing.
HAND KNOTTED CARPETS OF MADHYA PRADESH (INDIA)
ABSTRACT
The craft of carpet weaving in Gwalior has engulfed an incredible population including few thousand men and women in its weaves. A lot of them prefer to work with families within their courtyards. The demographics of those involved in this traditional craft currently involves a substantial Muslim population. The carpet weavers of Madhya Pradesh are undisputed masters of not only weaving carpets but dyeing also. The growth and the spread of the industry can be partly attributed to the caste and village system unique to India.
Weaving carpets requires definite skills and a certain level of expertise on the part of the weaver. There have been different types of weaving techniques that can be used to produce carpets with variety of effects and designs on them. Every act of weaving involves choosing a particular fiber, deciding on colors, imagining an abstract or design, a weaving technique and finally a finishing process where the carpet finally turns into a refined piece of craft and comfort.
Hand knotted carpets are produced by one of the most customary and fascinating technique of weaving Indian carpets. This style of weaving was primarily seen in oriental countries and was later imitated by the Europeans. The coloring was earlier done by means of natural dyes, but presently it is being done with synthetic dyes as well. In this technique, once a particular design for the rug is decided, the rug is placed on the loom. Wraps are then made vertically on the loom. The weaver make knots on the warps and then cuts it before moving on to subsequent knot. The weaver then arranges horizontal rows of wefts across the warps. This creates the pile effect. After weaving all the knots the weaver inserts the wefts which give suitable thickness to the rug. These wefts are made of silk or wool or cotton. The weaver starts creating knots. He takes warps in the same row and ties a knot around them. More the knots more sophisticated the design.
This industry is primarily rural in nature with minimal requirements. There is very little value for labor, which raises a big monetary concern. Another challenge that threatens the sustainability of carpet weaving in Gwalior is that children below the age of 14 are not authorized to start working at their family looms or at least until they have attained their basic education. So, when children do join after this age, they already have their interests set elsewhere and are hardly keen on continuing.