Giorgia Lupi &OtherStories
A data-driven fashion collection
Earlier in 2019, I had the incredible opportunity to design an entire data-driven fashion collection for & Other Stories: a co-lab that turns data visualizations into wearable stories, where the graphic patterns printed, embroidered, sewed on the sixteen pieces I created, reveal the amazing achievements of three female science trailblazers.
For this collection, I went and looked for ‘data’ on the achievement of three trailblazing women who have been pioneers in previously male dominated fields, and paved the ground for other women to get started and thrive.
The three women are Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer in history, Rachel Carson, who spearheaded the environmentalist movement, and Mae Jemison, the first African American woman astronaut.
Working together on this co-lab, we explored the visual language of datasets to reveal rich narratives depicted through illustrated designs.
Using datasets about their major accomplishments, as well as impactful information from their lives as design material, we created three unique patterns. Resulting in a collection based on data-driven narratives, beautifully visualized to reveal a deeper meaning.
Ada Lovelace
A mathematical genius, who is now considered to be the first computer programmer, Ada is recognized as a pioneer for the discipline of computer science.
Ada Lovelace used her gift for mathematics to translate and write instructions, imagining how to program a machine to do complex calculations.
In the notes to her translation of a scientific paper describing a mechanical computing machine invented by Charles Babbage she wrote the first “program”, imagining how to use the machine to calculate the Fibonacci sequence. It was the first time someone programmed a machine to do complex math in this way, de facto originating the discipline of computer science.
For the project, I analyzed and visualized the structure and mathematical form of the algorithm she wrote with a colorful geometric pattern.
Rachel Carson
The author, environmentalist, and activist is best known for her book, Silent Spring, which is considered the first contribution to literature from a conservationist perspective and helped to launch the environmental movement, propel regulations and set up national agencies devoted to protecting the environment.
Rachel Carson’s work showed us how everything we do affects the world we live in. The dataset we created reflects this holistic approach. The pattern is built to reveal the interconnected structure and contents of her book — represented by the different techniques on the garment, such as embroidery and color codes.
Through different techniques on the garments, such as embroidery and color codes, I visualized the structural and semantical analysis of her work, Silent Spring.
Mae Jemison
A true polymath and NASA astronaut, Mae Jemison’s accomplishments include participating in the STS-47 lower orbit mission, an achievement that established her as the first woman of color in space.
Mae Jemison’s perseverance established her in many different fields, from medicine to international aid, contemporary dance to an explorer of environmental sciences and sustainability, but the role I found most fascinating and wanted to focus on for this collection is an astronaut. Besides being the first woman of color in space, she also aspired many women to pursue space exploration. The success of her mission is a celebration of her dedication to overcome challenges and the realization that to create change you need multiple perspectives. The pattern is based on her orbits and experiments that she conducted in space.
As a memory of her mission, the visual represents the days she was in space and how she might have viewed her surroundings as well as the many experiments she performed.
Data Research assistant: Mara Pometti
Press:
EN: Vogue, Vanity Fair, Fast Company, It’s Nice That, Refinery 29
Other Languages: Welt, Vogue Pl, Weekend Knack, Il Post