When we were told to find some new version of a soft sculpture or inflatable in the real world, my mind immediately went to Fredrik Tjaerandsen and his inflatable dresses.
He creates these dresses out of latex that first start off fully blown up, which encapsulates the model’s body. Then, the model is able to deflate the dress from inside of it, and as it lets out air, it then transforms into a dress that the model continues to wear.
What I found most interesting about this was the use of both the inflated and deflated shape of the dress. When I was making my improvisational inflatables, I was only thinking about the look of the inflatable in its inflated state and didn’t think of anything else. In this case, it is clear that Tjaerandsen thinks about the design of both the inflated and the deflated state of the dress.
Additionally, these designs also highlight the deflation of the inflatable – you can see the dress appear to grow taller as it deflates and changes shape, eventually falling downwards into a dress-like form.
Here is a video of a fashion show in which Tjaerandsen showcased many of his inflatable dresses. He also experiments with different inflated parts of a look, such as sleeves.