Digital Distortion Through Co-creation

Abstract

Co-creation is changing the way that the end-user and the manufacturing knitting industry engage with design of knitted products. This is in part due to the change in technological interfaces and capabilities but also due to the knitting technology becoming more available through open source portals and designers having gained a greater understanding of what knitted technologies such as seamless knitting—can do. The technological capabilities of seamless knit have been designed to use a traditional body shape that dictates a recognized silhouette during the development of outputs. Through creative practice this paper discovers alternative design possibilities when the technology is hacked to distort this archetypal body shape; new design outputs and textiles emerge. New methodologies for textile design approaches are also discussed through this article when new methods of creation which ignore the pre-programmed body form are introduced, and therefore new ways of discussing design development processes are revealed. This practice-led research focuses on the investigation of non-conventional body shapes utilizing the Wholegarment® knitwear technology as a material essential to the design development process. The design methodology developed combines the machine and designers as co-creators throughout the practice; resulting in distortion of mass manufactured silhouettes. This approach extends beyond the normal boundaries set by the digital interface generating possibilities for extreme knitted textile forms. This article outlines through practice some of the technological issues to overcome before full integration of co-creation by the end-user would be possible using seamless knit technology.