Carmen Schweizer explored designing motorcycle apparel for women with a subtle, high fashion aesthetic. She critiqued the current market as overly sexualized or relying on stereotypes like pink. Her user board of female motorcycle riders wanted quality materials, safety, and fashion over sexualization. She proposed a jacket or vest inspired by the pangolin's protective scales, following its pattern and symbolism of protection. Her process included mood boards, sketches, structure models, pattern exploration, and a final scaled model.

1. Re-imagining Female
Motorcycle Apparel
Carmen Schweizer
Soft Goods Design
14 Dec 2015

2. In my investigation I explored leather
motorcycle wear design for women
with a high fashion yet subtle
aesthtic

3. Critiquing the Current
Market
either overly sexualized or
stereotyped femininity.
supposedly all women love to be
defined with pink.
Many product also splatter flowers,
skulls or hearts in an attempt to
show that the product is enticing to
women.

4. User Board
Female Sport Motorcyclists
Against the sexualized/ stereotyped
market for motorcycle apparel
Interested in quality of material
design, safety, and an aesthetic for
high fashion

5. Potential Areas for
Design
A motorcycle jacket or vest that
functions as a cycle wearable but
has a more considered design for
the female rider.
A vest less, baggy, sexualized or
stereotyped with particular imagry
or use of pink and more captured
by the pangolin pattern it its design.

6. The Pangolin
Native to parts of Africa and Asia
The only mammal species that has
a body covered in keratin scales
Extremely effective defense
mechanism, strong scales are
sharp and the animal is able to curl
themselves into a ball for protection
scale patterning is beautiful;
following the fibonacci sequence
inspired in the patterning and the
symbolism of protection and safety

7. Mood Boards

9. Preliminary Sketching

10. Structure Model 01

11. Structure Model 02

12. Structure Model 03

13. Structure Model 04

14. Pattern Exploration

15. Structure & Pattern
Model

16. Meaured
Orthographics and
Exploded Views

18. Final Model & Final
Thoughts