Vera de Pont is a designer who uses her experience in different fields (such as medical science, photography, textile design) for her futuristic views on fashion, and fashion production. Her two graduation projects, "Pop-up" and "Floaters of the Waterplanet" were both nominated for the Renee Smeets Award, the Melkweg Award and the Keep An Eye grant.
In this interview, de Pont talks about her project Pop Up, in which she created a coat that could be finished at home by the consumer.
Watch Vera de Pont's Design Indaba 2016 Talk.
“The project’s aim was to bridge designer and consumer and to skip the sewing industry for producing garments.”
De Pont created a garment that caused as little waste as possible and was cut out at home using domestic scissors. The owner then irons the fabric, and melting yarns woven into the textile seal the piece from fraying. She created a piece that was double sided and reversible (so that the underside of the material can also be appreciated), one silk screened and one version that was woven.
De Pont is currently enrolled in the two year Fashion Matters master's programme at the Sandberg Institute Amsterdam, researching the future of fashion. She is further investigating what would happen if fashion became open source and digital, what it would mean if a garment was downloadable, and researching the lifecycle and afterlife of garments.