Sleeves, Zips and Pockets

I started off the project by analysing different parts of the space suit itself, starting with the sleeves. I love the layered shoulder that goes half way down the sleeve on one of the suits and decided to recreate it out of paper onto a mannequin. The layering gives the outfit the iconic volume and oversized-ness that is so well recognised. The other key feature on the sleeves that I looked at was pockets and way of storing items within the suit. You can tell from looking at the image that every aspect of the design is there for a purpose, and that’s what I want to incorporate into my designs. Not just adding things for aesthetics and to make it visually pleasing, but so that they are practical as well as look good. 

There are many ways that a space suit is connected, clasps, Velcro, but most commonly zips are used. I didn't want to use them in the regular way that people tend to, straight down the middle, but actually this didn't seem to occur in the suits I looked at. I took 2 long zips and played around with the on mannequins drawing the jackets around them afterwards to see what effect it would give. Personally I think it worked really well, they look imaginative but still really simple. I thought the way that it pulls the jacket in in certain places changes the whole appearance of the torso. 

I previously spoke about how the pockets on the arms were there for practical use, and decided to look into it into more detail. Different types of pockets are used for different parts of the garment, these can be reinterpreted into something that turns a plain piece of clothing into something really interesting.