Diana Eng - Fashion Geek: Clothes Accessories Tech

f ASHIO n G e EK

clothing. accessories. tech.

DIANA e NG

North Light Books
Cincinnati, Ohio
www.mycraftivity.com

Fashion Geek. Copyright 2009 by Diana Eng.
Manufactured in China. All rights reserved. The patterns and drawings in the book are for personal use of reader. By permission of the author and publisher, they may be either hand-traced or photocopied to make single copies, but under no circumstances may they be resold or republished. It is permissible for the purchaser to make the projects contained herein and sell them at fairs, bazaars and craft shows. No other part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote a brief passage in review. Published by North Light Books, an imprint of F+W Media, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236. (800) 289-0963. First edition.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eng, Diana.
Fashion geek : clothes accessories tech / Diana Eng.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-60061-083-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)
eISBN: 978-1-4403-1559-6
1. Dress accessories--Technological innovations.
2. Clothing and dress--Technological innovations.
3. Sewing. 4. Light-emitting diodes--Amateurs manuals. 5. Electronics--Amateurs manuals.
I. Title.
TT560.E64 2009
646.404--dc22
2008042819

Editors: Robin M. Hampton, Christine Doyle
Designer: Karla Baker
Layout Artist: Geoff Raker
Production Coordinator: Greg Nock
Photography Art Direction: Marissa Bowers
Photographer: Ric Deliantoni, Tim Grondin
Wardrobe Stylist: Monica Skrezlowski
Hair and Makeup: Lynn Molitor, Nikki Deitsch

MET r IC CONV e RSION CH a RT

media

www.fwmedia.com

a BOUT TH e AUTHO r

Diana Eng is a fashion designer who specializes in technology, math and science. Her designs range from inflatable clothing to fashions inspired by the mechanical engineering of biomimetics. At age 22, her inflatable dress made the cover of ID Magazine. In 2005, she appeared as a designer contestant on season two of the Emmy-nominated hit TV show, Project Runway. She won Yahoo Hack Day in 2006, along with her two teammates, for designing and creating a blogging purse in less than 24 hours. Her work has been featured in exhibits both in the U.S. and internationally and has graced the pages of such publications as Womens Wear Daily, Wired, and Craft: magazine. She is the author of TechStyle: Create Wired Wearables and Geeky Gear. Diana is currently a designer in research and development in the New York City fashion industry and a founding member of Brooklyn-based hacker group NYC Resistor. To see more of Dianas work, visit: www.FashionNerd.com.

d EDICAT i ON

For those who want to make technology stylish.

AC k NOWLEDGME nt S

Thank you to my family for all of your support, to my grandmother for teaching me how to sew, and to my friends who were my first models trying on both the clothes that worked and my failed experiments. I would also like to thank my editors Robin Hampton and Christine Doyle for working so patiently with me. And thanks to North Light Books for making this such a fun project. Most of all, I would like to thank my mother, Dorian Eng, for all of her help getting things done and for being a mother.

Table of Contents

by Chloe Dao

FOR e WO r D

Miss Diana Eng is not your average everyday designer. She is an unusual combination of fashion and technology. Most designers like me are not computer savvy; we have a very rudimentary understanding of technology. With Miss Diana, I truly feel she is a techie at heart and then a fashion designer. What I love about Miss Dianas design is that it incorporates technology into a garment to enhance the wearer experience. I love her idea of installing a heart monitor and a camera in a hoodie. Whenever the wearers heart rate increases, the camera takes a picture. Genius and modern because we live in a very interactive and voyeuristic world. Dianas designs are not just clothes; they act more like an interactive partner in ones life.

I met Miss Diana during Project Runway. She was one of my fellow contestants and my roommate. I must admit when I first met Miss Diana I thought she was kind of geeky, and I was dying to see her aesthetic as a designer. When I finally saw her first garment, the Muslin Challenge, I was blown away by her creativity. She did something completely different than everyone else there. Her designs were very high art; conceptual but, for me, wonderfully wearable. What made it truly Dianas was her magnetic closures. Of course anyone who watches the show realized at that moment this was not a typical designer, especially when she started explaining why the magnets were not working.