Uniform and Uniformity

As a broad starting point for this piece of investigative research, I am going to look at uniformity in different forms, both in natural and manmade environments. I find it fascinating how, even in things that may seem so random and unordered, patterns of uniformity can be found. I will start out by researching into a range of things, from patterns found in nature, to uniforms worn by different people, for different reason. I find the idea of everything being the same interesting as it has often been used as a way to control people when looked at in the man-made world, however in the natural world uniformity is used to resolve things, from creating something with the best structural integrity to allowing a species to protect its self, whether that be with camouflage, or by moving as a large group, all at once.

                                     

   I think I initially chose to look at uniform and uniformity as a starting point because it offers such a wide range of research possibilities, ranging from studying society and human nature, to garments themselves within uniform, all the way to looking at what happens within nature concerning patterns of uniformity.

The way uniform and uniformity is used as a means to control the masses, from in an school environment where everyone wears the same school uniform, to factory workers and even dictatorships, is something that really interests me, and I am exploring why this happens, and how people rebel against this control. Often this non-conformist rebellion can be very subtle, maybe the uniform has been slightly altered, or small additions have been made to set that individual apart from the masses. The idea of taking something that everyone wears, and seeing how different people take it upon themselves to change it in order to retain some of their individual personality could be a strong basis for this project to move forward, and creating a uniform that allows the wearer to do this, without overly encouraging them to do something in particular could produce really exciting results, and not only turn out interesting, individual garments, but also serve as a sort of social experiment. 

Uniformity within nature is also an area I will look into and base research around, and possibly use as to either inform shape and form in my design, or use the information in a wider context, looking more at the concepts and reasons behind uniform actions and happenings in the natural world. Patterns within nature range hugely, from the construction of seashells, to the way the seed heads in plants are put together. Often animals subscribe a sort of uniformity in order to protect themselves for danger; for example the zebra’s stripes are there to allow them to camouflage themselves in long grass, and against each other   away from possible predators and any other threats, such as flies (if you look at a group of zebras together, it makes your eyes go a bit funny!). This idea of blending in is something I want to play on in my research and design process, as I can look the way uniformity allows everyone to blend in, but what if you want to stand out? How could someone do this if they are forced to subscribe to certain uniformity? This idea of breaking out instead of blending in could be applied to my clothing design, and after more research I will be able to play around with different ways of doing this.

Uniformity in architecture, again, is a really interesting source of inspiration, as, over a large building, the repetition of structural or façade based details can create patterns almost unrecognisable as buildings, especially when zoomed in to just the area of repeated detail in question. I think architectural details are a great way to reference specific elements of garment design, for things like fastenings, certain paneling details, and specific cuts and angles. Things like scaffolding structures, balconies and interesting window positioning can all offer great shapes through their uniformity and repetition. Moreover, often repetition within architecture is used for structural integrity, for example in the roof of the British Museum, the repeated pattern create by the inter-crossing beams is all down to the fact that this specific layout offers the best solution to a structurally sound roof.