Taking Up i.Materialise’s Korean and Japanese Accessories Challenge

3D printing lab i.materialise in collaboration with Materialise Malaysia and Japan recently launched a competition focused on redesigning your own version of traditional Japanese or Korean accessories. Participants can move from Japanese Netsuke, traditional hairpins and Korean Hanbok accessories and recreate innovative designs using the strength of 3D printing. The 10 winning designs will be printed and exhibited during the fashion show at Materialise's North East Asia Conference (NEA) in Japan on the 5th and 6th of September.

The piece I entered into the competition is entitled "Architectural Kanzashi" and is inspired by traditional kanzashi ornaments. The starting point for my hairpiece was the Gion Festival that takes place in Kyoto in July (it seemed very apt to pick this month since the competition closes in July…).

During the festival there is a parade of floats and the upper part of the hairpiece moves from the rigid pagoda-like architecture of the Naginata Hoko float. Another inspiration – modern and futuristic architecture – then comes in and this is when the piece starts to gradually becoming more elaborate and intricate and in some parts it looks as if it were melting, to symbolise the union between tradition and modernity. Who would wear it? Probably a character out of a retro-futuristic Asian noir à la Blade Runner!