DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
MF : Houndstuds is inspired by the classic hounds-tooth pattern and pyramid studs. Although they are widely used in the fashion industry but they are often seen as incompatible with each other. Hounds-tooth pattern is seen as a classic pattern of elegance whereas Pyramid studs are seen in rock and punk styles. They however still share some similar structure and shape. Houndstuds is created by the decomposition and reconstruction of both classic elements.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
MF : While discovering the similarities between hounds-tooth pattern and pyramid studs, I wanted to create something that has never been seen in the current market. This is more like a revolution of the classic hounds-tooth pattern.
DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
MF : We would like to explore more possibilities on the usage of the studs and exploring other material for the Houndstuds structure.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
MF : It took about 3 months for Houndstuds to be created from sketches and it took quite a while for me to tackle the problems while applying on the final products.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
MF : When designing products for my brand (Midnight Factory Hong Kong), I always want to introduce products with our own style and cannot be found in the current market. So I started to explore possibilities from different aspects and was fancied about the elegance of the classic houndstooth pattern. Hence, I have started a journey to re-create this historical design into a new and modern form of style.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
MF : This design is an original creation for Midnight Factory Hong Kong.
DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
MF : Hounds-tooth pattern, pyramid studs and other forms of studs in the market.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
MF : The name Houndstuds came from the combination of Houndstooth and Studs (Hound-studs), which is basically how the design was inspired.
DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
MF : The structural form of the houndstooth.
DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
MF : Although Houndstud is produced as a single stud, the usage of the stud is to form a 3D hounds-tooth pattern which require a very accurate alignment of the studs in order to simulate the classic hounds-tooth pattern. However, due to the fact that the Houndstud has a structurally complicated form, it is extremely difficult to align the Houndstuds perfectly in production by using a single anchor on the stud.
Therefore, a dual anchor was developed to fix this problem. A dual anchor on the Houndstud allows each stud to be fixed on two focal points, thereby they can be stabilized on the material with precision for subsequent assembling process.
A tailored bracket for the stud is also introduced to minimize the space between the stud and the product surface so the stud can closely attach to the product surface and would not fall off easily.
Sewing of the product was the other challenge that we faced in the production. Due to the special form and the extension of the studs, it is very difficult to assemble the studs onto the product with a desired distance towards edges since the normal presser foot cannot go through the irregular surface easily. Therefore, a tailor presser foot was made to ensure the studs are assembled onto the product with the best presentation.
DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
MF : To gain comments in order to improve our designs in the future and gain more exposure for my brand Midnight Factory Hong Kong.
