Humanesque
Category: Apparel
Competitions: International
My name is Nathan Batra, and I am from Augusta, Georgia, a small town nestled in the southern region of the United States. As a child, I was captivated by the intricate and ornate traditional garments my mother wore which originated from India. Those moments ignited my love for fashion. However, lacking the confidence to pursue it, I initially embarked on a career in medicine. During those challenging times, I turned to art as an outlet, but deep down, I felt a sense of dissatisfaction, as I had lost touch with my true self. It was when I stumbled upon my old sketchbook and rediscovered my drawings of dreamlike garments that I realized my passion was still alive. In that transformative moment, I merged my love for fashion with my scientific background. Humanesque is all about that transformative moment, truly using my medical knowledge and combining it within fashion and technology. I pulled out my medical textbooks to get a true anatomical look at the human body. I even have a box of sample human bones that allowed me to get close and personal with their unique shapes and crevices. I found myself particularly drawn to the paradox of bones – both robust and delicate – a concept that I sought to depict through my textile work. The unique textile manipulations and patterns are the embodiment of this concept, representing a stylized, abstracted view of bones. I layered this abstraction with muscles and cartilage structures, brain scans, x-rays, and parametric architecture, all of which were combined and layered to get the unique patterns. To me, leather has always embodied luxury, its inherent durability and flexibility making it the ideal choice for this dress. The application of laser cutting introduced a newfound stretchiness to the leather, enabling it to flex and expand in sync with the wearer's movements. This not only offered improved mobility but also produced a striking moire effect. I aimed to incorporate an open-back design using transparent silk organza, featuring UV printing - a cutting-edge method that layers ink to establish a 3D texture. This design element was intended to mimic the spine's appearance, akin to a tattoo.
