From the plan to the 3D model through folding. Case studies in Fashion Design

This paper presents the results of the educational activity carried out within the Fashion Design Course concerning the folding surfaces, and their applications at different scales. The goal of this study is to put the students in front of a geometric process that from the plane leads to the three-dimensional spatiality of the object, according to a construction opposite to a traditional one. This consideration shows to students the different possibilities that geometry offers both in the design process and in the project presentation. The methodologic approach adopted confirms the well-known importance today of the drawing as medium of critic interpretation not only about the complex surfaces and their three-dimensional organization but also the conceptual process that has generated them. The educational activity articulated in consequential phases that puts a student in front of a geometric process that from the plane leads to the three-dimensional spatiality of the object, according to increasing difficulty levels. This study will continue extending the results obtained on the analogic folds to the possible developments in the digital environment, in order to allow students to manage with a critical and scientific awareness the drawing of the fashion product also through virtual simulation.