tomorrow’s garments
For quite some time, I’ve wanted to share with you some absolutely fascinating developments in the area of fashion, which need little imagination to realize how they could turn tomorrow into a very different reality. Let me introduce you to a few such developments.
During his Spring 2007 runway show, top-notch designer, media- and allround artist Hussein Chalayan demonstrated an absolutely amazing collection of robotically enhanced / animatronic clothing (see videos here and here). Poetry prevails over technology, leading to a breathtaking experience. Imagine a world in which garments change appearance, function, in which textiles change characteristics, in response to the person wearing them or the environment in which he or she moves. Our friends Luca Marchetti and Emanuele Quinz of Anomos and Mosign in Paris have the pleasure to work with a whole series of designers, among which Chalayan, for example, on avant-garde, artistic experience design projects weaving together past, present and possible futures of fashion.
A few months ago I already blogged about Philips design’s Skin project (part of Design Probes), focussing on the interaction between technology and our bodies and how that might affect the concept of clothing and our personal environment. Over in London, our friends Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz from wearable technology company CuteCircuit, not only made it to Wired’s NextFest future fair but also onto Time magazine’s list of “Best inventions of 2006″ with their hugshirt, a project they initiated while still at the former Interaction Design Institute in Ivrea, Italy and kept on finetuning ever since.
Some of their projects are also included in the book “Fashioning the future”, published by Thames & Hudson, which gives a glimpse into tomorrow’s wardrobe.
Obviously, all clothes need washing or stay clean, but imagine leaving out the water … think ultrasonic waves, or ozone, or ultraviolet light, or bacteria.
Like any e-technology, wearable technology embedded in clothing needs energy, power. Several solutions are under study or development, e.g. solutions based on body-heat, light-sensitive fibres, kinetic energy from body-movement, recharging washing cycles, etc.
For more future-forwarded fashion, also check out “Fashion for the 21st century”. Stay tuned for more entries on our ‘wearable future’.
Image from Style.com
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