Technology and Fashion can work together. Designer Vivienne Tam’s shown us as much with her line of gorgeous HP Mini netbooks. Well, last week, HP had the chance to sit down with Project Runway contestants Seth Aaron Henderson (San Diego, CA), Jay Nicolas Sario (The Philippines) and Emilio Sosa (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic). They told us how they used the TouchSmart tm2 notebooks and all-in-one TouchSmart desktop PCs in last week’s Vivienne Tam fabric challenge, as well as in creating their designs throughout the duration of the season. If you want to see Project Runway episode 10 featuring the “HP Challenge,” it’s available online at mylifetime.com through April 24.
HP: How does the feel of digital sketching compare with pen and paper? Do you see it as something that could replace pen and paper or complement it in the design process?
SAH: Personally, I feel like using the TouchSmart tm2 enhanced the experience on the show. I don’t think I would have gotten the same result designing on pen and paper, and creating a textile or really graphic or sharp image was so easy that I definitely plan on using it in a future collection. In working with it, you really see how nice, simple and user-friendly it is.
JNS: I taught myself to draw about 17 years ago, and I don’t really think it’s that different. I’d have to say it was about equal in terms of how easy or complicated it was to use.
HP: What was the top benefit of working with the TouchSmart tm2’s digital sketching software? Any surprising benefits?
ES: Just seeing your creation come to fruition that much faster, and having tons of options you wouldn’t normally have when drawing it out using pen and paper (i.e. repeating strokes, using mirror images, etc) makes is well worth it. With the TouchSmart, you have an idea and you can manipulate it anytime you want, print it out and see it in real time. It would take much longer if you had one sketch. Not to mention, you can create a lot of dimension. For example, Jonathan Peters used a different technique in the last challenge where he played with layers and texture in a way that would normally be impossible to do on paper.
HP: Would you continue to use the TouchSmart notebooks once the show is over?
SAH: Definitely.
JNS: I will totally use this going forward when making fabric. I am a big fan of color and print, and I definitely want to explore how I can work with them more after the challenge. I mean, it really gives you the opportunity to make it 100% your own and use it as a signature stamp. As a designer, you want to establish a brand that is identifiable, and this gives us the tools to do just that - make it bigger, smaller, tweak it, stretch it, you name it.
HP: Creating your own fabric was a Project Runway first. Usually you buy your fabric, but now you’re responsible for not only creating the fashion but also the fabric patterns. Have you done anything like this before: using technology to create fashion textiles?
SAH: Using technology as a tool is a first for me. In school, it was all hand done with dyes and paints. Really easy, and in all honesty, rather primitive.
JNS: I’ve done some stuff in the past – well, more appliqué. It had same look but would literally take five times as long.
HP: How was it “painting” on the touch-enabled computers? Were you able to transfer your creative vision to the computer and eventually fabric?
SAH: It was an easy transition. But for me, it was almost more like graphic design in the pattern that I created as I didn’t really use the paint tool too much.
JNS: No, it was challenge. Especially in having to pick the color code. They gave us a HUGE booklet where we had to choose one out of something like 2,000 color palettes.
SAH: Ya, even though he only used black and green, which makes it a lot easier. The real challenge was for people who used multiple colors. But it really all comes back to getting used to the tool.
ES: I didn’t find it too hard. The color code booklet was big, but not anymore difficult to choose from than a wall of red fabric in the store.
HP: Did you need a lot of help creating the patterns or was the process natural and intuitive?
SAH: Completely natural. Very easy, and extra speedy. I personally did it in an hour – and Jay made multiple patterns, and was able to accomplish both pattern and design.
JNS: It was a little bit of a struggle in the sense that I didn’t know what the design was and I needed them to complement one another. So, you have an idea and you work with it, go back to it, alter it, etc.
HP: Now that you’ve become accustomed to using the TouchSmart tm2 notebooks in the workplace, do you have any general thoughts about the fusion of fashion and technology or additional comments you wanted to share?
JNS: Fashion and technology moves at the same pace. They sync. You have to be able to move with technology to be able to survive in fashion.
SAH: I just want to say that I’m too young for these guys, I hate Jay and Emilio is falling asleep – even though this was his favorite challenge. No, but in all honesty, I would really like to see more of these for future shows.
ES: I agree. As a fan, I think it would be very interesting to see what other designers do and come up with in the same situation, as this really was one of the best challenges ever.
HP thanks Seth, Emilio and Jay for their time and wishes them luck in Project Runway. And to see even more pictures of the event, check out our Flickr photostream!
