Wearable Technology, Scarlet // 2019
Inspiration
Diamonds are supposed represent love, commitment, and blissfulness of a new journey ahead. It became the betrothal stone in the fifteenth century where it served as proposal or wedding rings. However, it seems to be more of a curse to countries where diamonds originates.
Blood diamonds, also known as Conflict diamonds were mined illegally and traded in areas of Africa such as Angola, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Guinea Bissau in the 1990s. The profits earned were spent by warlords on military weapons during the civil war, causing suffering and bloodshed of many innocents. Liberia was the main route used to export these illegally mined blood diamonds. In Sierra Leone alone, the civil war resulted in over 75,000 deaths and 500,000 refugees.
The civil wars funded by these diamonds has ceased but countries are now fighting over the resources. Further, illegal mining of Burmese Rubies are on the rise. This issue needs to be curbed in order for the gemstone market to not be filled with unethical stones.
The dress is named Scarlet. The diamond gives of white light under normal light circumstances, but when surrounding dims and no light is detected by the sensor, the diamond turns vibrant red. This is to mimic the idea of " increased blood shed" when the miners dig deeper into the mines as more money can be profited to buy weapons, more people can possibly be killed.
These is the trailer video I edited to promote our Fashion show in school
Behind the scenes video of the entire process of photoshoot
