Reacting to positive touch

Alison Lewis created Closer, a project that reinforces values of kindness, fun and play through positive touch. The project consists of two garments that she completed for her thesis work at Parsons in New York.

As described by Lewis: "Current technologies lack the larger social and emotional languages of our senses: touch, taste, and smell. Of the basic senses, direct human touch is fundamental to our well being. Touch gives and receives comfort and joy; it also expresses love, care and support. The physical and emotional disconnect which occurs with the lack of positive touch denies us of the richness of the human experience." As a response, Lewis created two garments. The first is Patsy, a pullover that translates touch to sound. It responds to gestures such as hugging or gently holding the wearer. The second is Filly, a garment that translates touch to light. The light changes and represents the number of positive touches. It even reacts to a lack of touch.

What is intriguing about this is the concept of using technology to affect social behavior. Not only is the technology aesthetically integrated into the garment, the function is used to express and reinforce positive behavior between people.

Dress provides personal space

Teresa Almeida designed Space Dress, which makes a comment on personal space in public places. It was originally designed for rush hour in New York City's subway system to help relieve stress and claustrophobic situations. The dress inflates based on the user's decision. As it inflates, people around you would be pushed away, increasing your sense of personal space, especially in crowded situations.

What I like about this is its simplicity in concept and aesthetics. Almeida's prototype proves the function and behavior while discretely hiding the componentry so that the experience is focused on the behavior and gesture of the dress in its environmental context.

A match made in heaven

Fashion designer Cait Reas of 1of1 Studio and digital artist, C.E.B. Reas collaborated on a set of beautifully patterned one-of-a-kind garments. 1of1 Studio is an "independent design studio that synthesizes fashion and art into one-of-a-kind apparel, made to order in Los Angeles. Each piece results from a collaboration between a commissioned artist and fashion designer Cait Reas."

Although the garments are not interactive, the technology used to generate the textiles was. With Ben Fry, Los Angeles-based C.E.B. Reas intitiated processing.org, which is an open source programming language that is used to create algorithmic patterns, images, and interactions. Reas used this language to programmatically generate a series of gorgeous patterns that were then printed on the fabric used for each garment. The result is a beautiful collision of technology and fashion.

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Wearable musical instrument

This toy piano shirt was made for the Electronic Textile workshop that was held in Zurich this month as part of the DIY Festival Zurich. All the parts were taken from a toy piano, integrated directly into the garment, and each note is played by touching a soft button sewn into the shirt. This hackable shirt isn't available on the market, but you can get your hands on it by making it yourself using the step-by-step instructables, or by purchasing the somewhat-similar Electric drumkit shirt by ThinkGeek.

There's something charming about playing your own shirt. I particular like the non-button gestures that trigger the sounds. For example, when the wearer moves his arms back and forth, is triggers a note. These types gesture opportunities are endless in garments. I would love to see him, or someone who is using his step-by-step instructables to explore the gesture possibilities even further.

Interactive hip-hop apparel for '09

Music, style and fashion are all integral to hip-hop culture, so why not merge them into a line of interactive gear that helps connect you with your music. KILLA is a new line of hip-hop fashion that includes integrated interfaces for your music. Check out their videos that aim to capture how the culture merges music and fashion.

KILLA partnered with QIO Systems to help with the sensors and soft interface technology. The line is aimed to be launched in ’09 and is one of the few fashion lines available on the market that includes integrated technology available for a somewhat reasonable price (considering the extra cost to include technology componentry).

Additional sources via talk2myshirt.com.

GPS-embedded lingerie

Lucia Loria, a Brazillian designer, has created a line of lingerie called Find me if you can that includes an embedded GPS tracking system and it has caused quite a stir. According to the designer via Wired: "It's not a modern chastity belt, says the designer, but instead could become a lifesaver, as a safety device on a night out."

Now, my first question is why would I want a GPS tracking system in my underwear? This is froth with red flags and it seems to be an example of where concept and implementation do not meet. If safety is the goal, I challenge the designer to push the concept, find ways to understand what the real problems/needs are, and solve those.

Read more on the controversy here.