Hasta La Ideas

For a superheroine, packing must be easy; their outfits are so skimpy there’s barely enough fabric to fit into a purse. You could argue that male superheroes also wear costumes that leave little to the imagination, at least in terms of tightness, but it is female superheroes in particular that are depicted in practically stripper-esque outfits.

Fans have noticed, of course. On comic book forums you’ll find comments like the following:

For one month I think DC should switch the male/female costume designs in all their titles. Wonder Woman would put on battle armor or something that shows no skin below the neck and Superman will put on knee high boots and skin tight biker shorts.

Others find the skimpy costumes irritating for practical reasons, in true comic book geek style:

…Huntress’s “sexy” uniform makes me nuts. She doesn’t have superpowers and there are important organs in your abdomen. Somebody cuts or shoots her abdominal aorta and it’s all over.

In any case, artist Michael Lee Lunsford has started populating a Tumblr with his illustrations of, well, reasonably-dressed superheroines. Some of them are even wearing proper pants.

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Chloe van Diepen for Core77

The T-Shirt Issue is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary design collective that have de- and reconstructed the quintessential article of clothing, that which gives them their name and purpose. While we had a first glimpse at some of their experimental “non-basics” at Dutch Design Week, the T-Shirt Issue is also looking to launch a line of reimagined tees through a Kickstarter campaign.

The issue is twofold: firstly, “the T-shirt is one of the most personal pieces of clothing, yet with their current mass market treatment, they offer the wearer little individuality.” Second, and more importantly to the young Berliners, is that “no matter what cosmetic alterations you apply to the T, the shirt remains the same… a four piece pattern that has remained unchanged since it’s birth in the 19th century.”

Thus, the designers of TSI use 3D modeling software to explore the infinite variations of shapes (or cuts) of fabric that can be folded and sewn into a standard t-shirt.

After more than 100 years of uniform T-shirts, we have managed to break the code and have started to construct basic apparel from the core… T-Shirt patterns are placed and reconstructed in 3D space. Using basic geometry, an endless amount of unique patterns can be generated that create their own signature in the form of seam lines.

Unlike the seams on common shirts—restricted to the shoulders and sides—our seams run freely over the entire surface of the fabric and can be altered to any position and degree of complexity without losing the fit.

In other words, the T-Shirt Issue is suggesting that the locations of the seams of a T-shirt are largely incidental and that there is potential to “redefine the aesthetics of all things jersey.”

If the concept doesn’t seam particularly radical, it certainly makes for a different, more material approach to fashion—i.e., they’ve questioned the very matter of clothing design as a means of achieving a form that is literally anthropomorphic. The video is a fairly straightforward presentation of the concept:

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In case you missed it, back in 2006 we celebrated our 11th year with a special collaboration: the Core77 x Fila Blu Fom sneaker. With only 300 pairs available, the limited edition sneakers were hand numbered and packed in a vintage Fila box. Now here’s your chance to relive the magic with a brand new, never worn before pair of Blu Foms in men’s US 11. Thanks to our board members, we were alerted to the pair up on the eBay auction block. Act fast, the auction ends on September 12th!

Original video from the archive after the jump:

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VC is a big fan of DIY projects such as this. Ty shower curtains come complete with a permanent black marker to Draw-It-Yourself. In the mood for even more self expression? Check this and that. Via

Rythme Coloré (Colored Rhythm), 1946

Oftentimes designers speak about bringing art into everyday life; Russian-born French artist Sonia Delaunay made this central to her life’s work. Known primarily as an abstract painter and “extraordinary colorist,” Delaunay worked across disciplines: fashion, textiles, graphic design, interiors and fine art. On view until June 5th, the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is presenting the first major exhibition of Sonia Delaunay’s work in the United States in 30 years.

Focusing on Delaunay’s designs for fashion and textile and covering two major periods of creative output between the 1920’s–30s, the exhibition shows more than 300 works with correlating period photographs, fashion illustrations and design work.

Design B53, 1924

Sonia Delaunay in her studio at boulevard Malesherbes, Photographed by Germaine Krull

A driving force behind Delaunay’s work is the theory of “simultaneity,” the sensation of movement and rhythm created by the simultaneous contrasts of certain colors.

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