Challenge
Fencing traces its roots to the development of swordsmanship for duels and self defense. Fencing started of as part of military training and developed into a sport in the 14th century. Even though much has happend to the sport since then, the fencing gear has looked pretty much the same. In this project we wanted to challange the sport of fencing and give the key parts of the equipment new functions and expression. Fencing is a sport with alot of heritage and tradition, it was another challange to balance this with innovation.
Approach
This project was created together with Christian Svärd, it took part during our freetime of a three week period. We both focused on creating the suit, then I created the shoes and he the helmet, but most of the decisions were made together.
Outcome
These three weeks resulted in a project were we explored the fencing sport and it's future possibilities. We created an inner bodysuit, vest, gloves, helmet and shoes. The process was really fun and we worked a lot with physical moodboards and sketches.
Visibility
In the current fencing helmets the visibility is poor through those steel wires. The good thing with wires is that air can travel through and make it breathable for the athlete. What if we can change this material to something more transparent and still keep the ventilation?
Temperature Issues
The current clothing equipment that is used in todays fencing is warm and bulky. It's created with thick fabric and has barely any breathing areas at all. This makes fencing an extremely warm sport for the athlete that only can wear the full equipment in shorter sequences.
Instability & Durability
Fencing puts a large amount of pressure on the heel of lead foot, up to x7 body weight, during a lunge the front foot is put at an extreme angle and the trailing foot takes a lot of damage. Current fencers usually attempt to repair their shoes, especially in the inner toe area, to keep the durability up.
Visibility
In the current fencing helmets the visibility is poor through those steel wires. The good thing with wires is that air can travel through and make it breathable for the athlete. What if we can change this material to something more transparent and still keep the ventilation?
Temperature Issues
The current clothing equipment that is used in todays fencing is warm and bulky. It's created with thick fabric and has barely any breathing areas at all. This makes fencing an extremely warm sport for the athlete that only can wear the full equipment in shorter sequences.
Instability & Durability
Fencing puts a large amount of pressure on the heel of lead foot, up to x7 body weight, during a lunge the front foot is put at an extreme angle and the trailing foot takes a lot of damage. Current fencers usually attempt to repair their shoes, especially in the inner toe area, to keep the durability up.
Visibility
In the current fencing helmets the visibility is poor through those steel wires. The good thing with wires is that air can travel through and make it breathable for the athlete. What if we can change this material to something more transparent and still keep the ventilation?
Temperature Issues
The current clothing equipment that is used in todays fencing is warm and bulky. It's created with thick fabric and has barely any breathing areas at all. This makes fencing an extremely warm sport for the athlete that only can wear the full equipment in shorter sequences.
Instability & Durability
Fencing puts a large amount of pressure on the heel of lead foot, up to x7 body weight, during a lunge the front foot is put at an extreme angle and the trailing foot takes a lot of damage. Current fencers usually attempt to repair their shoes, especially in the inner toe area, to keep the durability up.
Visibility
In the current fencing helmets the visibility is poor through those steel wires. The good thing with wires is that air can travel through and make it breathable for the athlete. What if we can change this material to something more transparent and still keep the ventilation?
Temperature Issues
The current clothing equipment that is used in todays fencing is warm and bulky. It's created with thick fabric and has barely any breathing areas at all. This makes fencing an extremely warm sport for the athlete that only can wear the full equipment in shorter sequences.
Instability & Durability
Fencing puts a large amount of pressure on the heel of lead foot, up to x7 body weight, during a lunge the front foot is put at an extreme angle and the trailing foot takes a lot of damage. Current fencers usually attempt to repair their shoes, especially in the inner toe area, to keep the durability up.
Visibility
In the current fencing helmets the visibility is poor through those steel wires. The good thing with wires is that air can travel through and make it breathable for the athlete. What if we can change this material to something more transparent and still keep the ventilation?
Temperature Issuse
The current clothing equipment that is used in todays fencing is warm and bulky. It's created with thick fabric and has barely any breathing areas at all. This makes fencing an extremely warm sport for the athlete that only can wear the full equipment in shorter sequences.
Instability & Durability
Fencing puts a large amount of pressure on the heel of lead foot, up to x7 body weight, during a lunge the front foot is put at an extreme angle and the trailing foot takes a lot of damage. Current fencers usually attempt to repair their shoes, especially in the inner toe area, to keep the durability up.
Adobe Illustrator was used to finalize the design of the inner bodysuit, vest and gloves. This step was crucial in the process.
The vectorized blueprints were then taken into Marvelous Designer, a fabric 3D-modeling software which was perfect to create softer materials.
The shoes focus was to improve stability and durability, while still keeping flexibility for the athlete. It's a laceless design with a midsole that is shaped in a way so less distress is made on the upper while performing. There is also a protective toe cap, ankle strap and a sole that wraps over the heel to maximize support and movement.
The helmets focus was to improve visibility for the athlete. This was solved with a polycarbonate screen while still keeping the metal mesh for breathability. It's also equipped with an inner sweatband, perforated area for hearing and protective kevlar.
