Foræva

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Visionary design duo Lana Dumitru and Vlad Tenu have reinterpreted tradition for the next space age, with a
hybrid art-meets-tech dress made wih Crystals from Swarovski. The future is crystal clear!! !
ABOUT!
Foræva is about two designers putting the past into the future in the shape of a crystal dress. Approached by Swarovski,
fashion designer Lana Dumitru and architect Vlad Tenu have teamed up to reimagine tradition for the next space age. In
a mission to redefine the digital craft, they took the folk pattern from a traditional Romanian rug and digitally reconstructed
it from over 25.000 Swarovski crystals into a new kind of artefact. The sheer complexity of this dress has
reached an engineering level, only possible through computer 3D simulations, algorithmic design methods and digital
prototyping.! !
THE DRESS!
Foræva is a unique dress carrying a positive and colourful message sent to us from the next century: identity and
tradition will not be lost on the path of inter-globalisation, they will evolve in unexpected ways, shaped by technology and
emotions. You might think of it as the dress that Grandma Earth will give to us as a goodbye gift before we leave her for
other planets; or a Saturday night outfit on Mars.! !
THE PROCESS!
Based on a multi-disciplinary approach, the sculptural design is achieved through completely new ways of using
Swarovski elements. Informed by complex algorithms, the crystals are acting as structural elements as well as
ornaments in order to form the fluid geometry and continuous surfaces or the dress. Simultaneously, they also behave
like coloured 3D pixels, illustrating three-dimensional discrete patterns and organic reliefs. These are controled by a
bespoke algorithm designed to interpret traditional patterns and re-create them from Swarovski crystals, in a similar way
the traditional sewn motifs were coded and transmitted through generations. It is a process based design, creating not
just one model but a family of them, fully simulated in 3D for a production dialogue with manufacturing robots rather than
the human hand. No wonder that it took a team of 15 people almost six months to assemble the dress.! !
THE FILM!
Captured in a spectacular short-film, Foræva is a story about humanity, mythology and space. It starts in the next space
age and brings the ancestral tradition back to the present time. It is a dress For Æva - the symbolic character coming
from the future to inspire and guide us through the rediscovery of our quintessential values, opening a constellation of
new possibilities and ways of shaping our future heritage. She is the old Eve and the future one, carrying tradition like the
most fashionable thing in the galaxy.! !
PRE-LAUNCH!
The first glimpse of Foræva was seen at the pre-launch of the project, the premiere of the short-film at Swarovski’s
‘World Jewelry Facets 2017’ in Shanghai, in June 2017. This successful collaboration with Swarovski is only the start of a
new journey for the two designers. Their interest in changing perception, pushing boundaries and innovation being a
main driver for future designs and collaborations. Following a showcasing tour of the dress, a commercial collection will
be released in the near future. Watch this Space! !