Meet Tel Aviv-based designer Noa Raviv, born and raised in one of the most complex cities in the world, living in between harmony and chaos makes her driven to find the perfect balance, including her creative vision and creation. Her most recent graduate collection from the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design has grabbing the attention of people the world over today. Entitled ‘Hard Copy’, the collection was influenced by Raviv’s exploration of classical Greek sculpture and the value of an original object in an era of duplication and replication. Using 3D software, Raviv created designs featuring imperfect digital images and distorted grid patterns that are impossible to produce using conventional methods.
In collaboration with Stratasys, one of the largest manufacturers of 3D printers in the world, Raviv has deliberately developed manipulated digital images with computer modelling software, incorporating the plastic print-outs with pleated fabric, tulle, and silk organza. She then places these onto models as incredible garments and create a kind of optical illusion between 2D and 3D patterns. “One of the things that fascinated me while working on the collection was the challenge of reproducing an error, or a non-existing element, and making it something that has form and shape and can be wearable.” She explained.
Each item is a true representation of an alternate reality presented within the confines of screens. For example, the grid is a tool used within programs such as rhinoceros, autoCAD, and illustrator in order to grant designers the ability to understand size, scale, and proportion. Within the context of the collection, the series of criss-crossing perpendicular vectors is referenced by lines of black and white polymers that articulate ruffled and undulating silk and tulle fabrics as they assume shapes similar to the traditional versions of bodices.
Raviv received the Fini Leitersdorf Excellence Award in recognition of the beauty, creativity, and skill demonstrated in her graduate collection. She is currently a finalist in the running for Fashion Designer of the Year through the 3D Printshow Global Awards, sponsored by Stratasys itself. Her design work, however, belies her youth and her illustration are captivating and her fluency with both digital and traditional media gives her an ability to create unique and powerful combinations in sartorial expression. Without ambiguity, her creations is something worth waiting for future. (Text Teuku Ajie)