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PATTERN-OLOGY is a research group based at CIAUD, the Research Centre for Architecture, Urbanism and Design of the Lisbon School of Architecture, University of Lisbon.
Established in 2017, PATTERN-OLOGY pivots around the idea that the process of thinking behind the creation of patterns is (1) inherently embodied – because it is the body that draws the body, i.e., patterns are always representations of the body, whichever dress styles they correspond to –, as well as (2) an eminently human activity – because it structures, maps and systematizes the body, a body that is continuously being reinterpreted/reinvented via patterns.
PATTERN-OLOGY also pivots around the idea that patterns (3) possess a beauty of their own, a beauty that doesn’t lie in the way their lines are drawn – in terms of the quality of their brushstrokes –, but in the way their lines are arranged – in terms of what they represent. The beauty of patterns doesn’t lie either in the uniqueness of their authors’ sketches – since they reflect a system of drawing with conventional symbols –, but in their authors’ artistry to establish coherence/harmony among the shapes of the various pattern pieces and, therefore, between body and drawing.
Furthermore, PATTERN-OLOGY pivots around the idea that it is in the territory of pattern design – as the two-dimensional, real scale transition between the immaterial idea and the multi-dimensional body –, (4) that the various fields involved in the materialization of dress acquire a tangible dimension, appealing thus to the designer’s sensory experience.