Press Releases

Welcome to a unique collaboration between the Art of Gear Manufacturing and the Art of Fashion.

What follows captures the inspiration, evolution and execution of a remarkable design project. Guided by School of the Art Institute of Chicago instructors, Anke Loh and Bambi Breakstone, teams of Fashion Design students experimented with plastic gears, incorporating these unconventional materials into unique garments and accessories.

The process began with a 2007 tour of Winzeler Gear where students could gather the actual gears, which would provide the materials and inspiration for their pieces, and continued into 2008, culminating in an awards event celebrating their efforts and recognizing the best achievements in bringing Gear Manufacturing and Fashion together.

The cooperation and vision of acting Graduate Dean Lisa Wainwright and Fashion Department Head Nick Cave were indispensable in allowing this collaboration to happen.

Inspiration

The Involute Curve is the simple, elegant shape which transmits motion through the complex structure of a gear. Properly incorporated into their design, it is the unseen mathematical truth that enables gears to smoothly deliver uniform, quite power. At Winzeler Gear we believe in the Art of Gear Design and Manufacturing.

In this spirit we invited Junior Class of Fashion Design students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to explore the simple, remarkable form of the involute curve. We encouraged them to take plastic gearing to new levels of shape and texture, energized with the fluid movement of fashion.

The results of their fresh and innovative designs are captured below. We hope you are inspired and stimulated by this collaboration.