[gallery] Due to popular demand, I'm currently working on a video that demonstrates Ping: A Social Networking Garment. There was a lot of planning, storyboarding, and shot list design to prep for the shoot. Here are some stills of 3 of the scenes. There will be 4 scenes that demonstrate how the garment works. Post-production takes a while so hang tight for the final video.
For more information on Ping, go to the project site or the project's blog post.
[gallery]Syuzi Pakhchyan, media designer, author and editor of Fashioning Technology wrote a great article that's published on Ecouterre. She talks about the hype and hope of wearable technology. "I have very few illusions that the survival of our planet depends entirely on the clever technologies that we, out of dire necessity, will invent. Technology alone is not going to save our planet—but we certainly are. The onus is on us: It is our choices, our demands from the market, that will bring about the necessary actions and changes in the fashion industry. Smart fabrics and wearable technology offer us an opportunity for a more sustainable future, but the promise will be bittersweet if the entire product lifecycle isn’t taken into consideration." Pakhchyan says.
She discusses ideas around nanotechnology, clothing that is infused with story, and hopeful solutions such as power-generating clothing. I love one of the quotes she referenced by educator and philosopher Marshall McLuhan:
"The book is an extension of the eye... Clothing, an extension of the skin... Electric circuitry, an extension of the central nervous system. Media, by altering the environment, evoke in us unique ratios of sense perceptions. The extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act -- the way we perceive the world. When these ratios change, men change."
Read her full article on ecouterre.com. Images from ecouterre.com.
[gallery] Artist Mauricio Velasquez Posada has created some gorgeous experimental fashion garments titled Geomorfos. The delicate and intricate pieces of work use complex folding techniques and patterning to create unique structures and forms. I can't imagine realistically wearing these, but as experimental structures they are quite visually irresistible. Imagine if the folds and patterning can move and bend in unique ways and intelligently like the kenetic dress. Watch some of the videos for more visual tastiness:
More on geometric patterning. Images from body pixel and Craftzine. Videos via body pixel.
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Emily Carr University Industrial Design student Dana Ramler and MAA student Holly Schmidt created Bio Circuit, which is a wearable soundscape that provides bio feedback based on the physiolgical state of the wearer. The subtlety of the interaction is nice and I like how she used the circuitry as part of the aesthetic patterning on the front of the garment. The soundscape "is provided in the form of recorded sounds the wearer hears through a speaker embedded in the collar of the vest. If the wearer's heart rate is low, the soundscape will reflect a quiet, natural area with sounds such as water, birds, and insects. If the wearer has a high heart rate, they will hear a cacophony of urban sounds such as people talking and traffic." Continue reading on danaramler.com.
More info on the project can be found on Vimeo. Images from Emily Carr University.
[gallery] Media artists Anja Hertenberger, Barbara Pais, and Danielle Roberts designed and developed this conceptual piece called e-Pressed. Inspired by acupressure therapy, it senses and visualizes our emotional states in ourselves and the people around us. Here's how they describe the project: "These days people feel vulnerable when showing so called negative emotions, such as grief, sadness, pain, fear, anger. We want to make space for these emotions and to communicate them in a new way. Our shirt, e-Pressed is a new communication layer for handling the vulnerability caused by these negative emotions.
By sensing and visualizing inner states, e-Pressed creates awareness in the wearer and in others. Awareness is followed by possible interaction, which is stimulated by light visuals. Areas originating from acupressure therapy will light up and invite the wearer and others to press on them, relieving tension and stimulating well-being." Continue reading on e-Pressed.
Images from e-Pressed.
A lot of designers have been exploring the idea of garments that can illuminate and change color in an instant based on mood, movement and environmental factors. There are still no practical display solutions for wearable technology aside from some attempts at flexible displays, some clever applications of smart inks and Philip's investment in flexible light fabrics. But this hasn't stopped designers from exploring the possibilities. Here is a collection of projects that change color by covering the surface of the garment with LEDs. Cutecircuit Galaxy Dress Cutecircuit's Galaxy Dress may not be wearable, but it certainly is an engineering achievement. Covered in 10's of thousands of LEDs, this dress subtly shifts color and creates a gorgeous pattern of light across the entire surface. I can't help but wonder how heavy it is and how warm it gets while all the lights are on. Regardless, it's a good exploration about the possibilities.
Hussein Chalayan video dress Similar to the Galaxy Dress, Hussein Chalayan's video dress is made up of thousands of LEDs that cover the surface. He added an outer layer of fabric that defuses the light, which smoothes and softens the effect.
Philips Design Probes: Skin Dress One of Philips Design Probes labeled "Skin" examines the future integration of sensitive materials in the area of emotional sensing. This exploration covers a garment in soft deffused LEDs to illustrate how emotive technology can use pattern and color change to interact and predict the emotional state of the wearer.
A bridal application With all of this illuminated fabrics exploration, we are beginning to see attempts to bring the concepts into real world applications. Brittany Beltz integrated hundreds of LEDs into her wedding gown and surprised the audience by illuminating the garment during her first dance with her new husband.
Katy Perry's Glowing Met Costume Gala Gown (Shown in the above photo) We are also finding illuminated garments find their way into the entertainment and music industry. While attending a red carpet event for the Met Costume Gala, Katie Perry wrapped herself in an illuminated gown created by Cutecircuit. The gown included LED lights that were controlled by a switch that was hidden inside Perry's bra. Read more about this garment at ecouterre.com.
All of these solutions will have non-trivial challenges such as power and heat. Although these explorations are gorgeous, I am still waiting to see a practical application.
Top image from ecouterre.