Liana Paberza, MA graduate of the Swedish School of Textiles, is blending the boundaries between digital and physical expressions in fashion design. Her ‘Chimericwear’ collection balances at the intersection of digital and physical fashion design in search of a hybrid state that reflects our time. The work aims to establish a new type of print development methodology with AI tools and 3D software that supports the existing toolkit and strengthens human-centred design rather than replacing it. Through experimental garment construction, 2D prints are given 3D depth, while applied distortion and glitch effects highlight the illusion of digital applications in the physical environment. When translated into the physical material, the uncanny, surreal and witty aesthetic of the prints – such as cats, dolphins and boom boxes – pushes the perception of what is real and what isn’t. Most of the pieces are developed with no-cutting, zero-waste principles and digital textile print technology. The focus on digital sketching and producing accurate prototypes in software prior to physical manufacturing reduces material waste compared to if the whole process was done with physical material only. By using AI imagery to source photographic elements to develop textile print, Paberza aims to unlock the artistic freedom of the digital, with unlimited imagination.
