Almost everything humans do is an imitation of nature, Adriana Gorea said — we try to fly like the birds, to swim like the dolphins.

That’s why Gorea, an assistant professor of fashion design at Syracuse University, draws inspiration from nature in both the aesthetics and mechanics of her work. Her latest project is a prototype of a sports bra, framed around the concept of biomimicry.

Biomimicry is a design and production process based on the emulation of nature, a principle Gorea wants to emulate in her prototype. She balances that innovation while also teaching students the importance of sustainability in fashion.

As she searched for a theoretical framework to model her designs while earning her Ph.D. at Iowa State University last year, Gorea learned about biomimicry. The framework captured her interest in science, mathematics and design, she said.

“Everything looks so beautiful,” Gorea said, “but it is actually a very engineered system inside. I’m thinking not only about aesthetics but the behavior of nature and trying to apply that to garments.”

Most activewear is made to wick away moisture and dry fast, Gorea said. But in nature, most organisms are made to absorb water — like a thirsty plant. Gorea looked at the mechanics of creating a structure that absorbs moisture and inflates. The material changes when it gets wet so the sports bra becomes more supportive. When it dries, it becomes soft.

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She is working with Tiago Barreira, an assistant professor in the exercise science program, for a subject trial for the sports bra. They will use a 3D human body scanner to measure changes in the body of someone wearing the bra before and after sweating to see what the material does, she said.

Barreira said the 3D body scanner takes 150 measurements in three seconds. Gorea expects to start testing in two to three weeks.

Moving forward, Barreira said he is interested in researching whether there’s any improvement in performance level while wearing the bra during a walk or jog.

“The goal is to see if the bra offers compression,” Barreira said. “The idea is for women exercising to benefit from wearing this bra.”

The garment is meant to change with the body, but most garments are not designed to be changed, Gorea said. To enable her garments to adapt, she uses techniques including stretchable fabrics and silhouettes that include pleats or fullness to accommodate for bodily changes.

It’s important to create lasting garments that evolve with the consumer because of the alarming rate at which textiles are being thrown away, Gorea added. Garments are made with a fast-to-market philosophy as consumers are pressured to keep up with the trends.

Fashion is one of the biggest polluters, Gorea said, especially in the Western world. As a professor training new designers who could potentially do more damage, Gorea said she has to teach them that something must change.

“We have to slow down the creation process,” she said. “Instead of 10 T-shirts per day, just make one, but do it in a way that that person would love it so much they would never get rid of it.”

Lawren Cappelletti, a senior fashion design major in Gorea’s senior collection class, said the professor enforced a sustainability requirement for the students’ collections. Cappelletti chose to use biodegradable, 100-percent natural fibers, while other students used items like polyester made from recycled bottles or eco-friendly dyes that use less water.

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Gorea also encouraged the students to try to create less waste, and Cappelletti said she pushes them to make sustainability a priority.

“I think it’s cool to have that sustainability factor because it makes you really think about what you’re doing, and she does talk a lot about, ‘Is this going to end up in a landfill?’” Cappelletti said.

All the players in the fashion industry are aware of the ecological damage, but there are more players beyond the industry, Gorea said. The consumer has to be aware. The big brands won’t make sustainable products unless there is a demand for them. But Gorea is trying to do her part to make the fashion world more sustainable.

Biomimicry is an engineering model that is not totally understood, Gorea said, as there are still mechanics in nature that are not understood.

“If we put more science into that, if we find out what is happening, then we can apply that to more things we create at the human level,” Gorea said.

Published on April 15, 2018 at 10:19 pm

Contact Taylor: tnwatson@syr.edu