I admit it...i'm a huge fan of Harry Potter movies. And i have the impression that scientists find great inspiration watching them too. Do you remember a previous post about scientists trying to invent a prototype of the "invisible cloak"? Well now its time for "The Daily Prophet" to come to life!
In Global Influencer Summit in Shanghai, China, HP introduced a new technology. The company plans to create tablets with extremely thin screen made of flexible and nearly unbreakable plastic unlike the devices currently being marketed and the screens are made of glass. A technology that can be used to create flexible screens which, indeed, we will be able to "wear" them. Attached to our clothing - wearable technology will be a fact really soon...maybe sooner than we thought...
We 'll just have to be patient until 2014 or 2015 when they will be available to the market.
I've read that car industry Toyota has already developed the idea of Fun-Vi that gives the ability to the driver to change the interior and exterior colour of his car! Wouldn't it be amazing?
Imagine clothes, accessories, shoes that can change their appearance... The potentials are innumerable!
Let's go for window shopping. Examples of future technologies that may define future fashion promotion.
Clothing retailer C&A in Brazil are using high tech hangers to show the popularity (or unpopularity) of their clothes. Called FashionLikes, the campaign relies on visitors to C&A’s site to like clothing items.
If you consider that social media have become part of our lives, lots of likes for the clever idea!
A technological innovation that gives shoppers an interactive experience for hundreds or maybe even thousands of shoes so that they can learn a lot about the shoe even if it is not physically in the store.
Adidas actually launched it's adi-VERSE Wall in it's Flagship Store in London, England, on Oxford Street in November 2011.
Two interesting concepts:
1. Interactive Window Concept made for the module Advanced Interface Design at Hyper Island hosted by North Kingdom.
Made by:Beatriz Areilza
Music: Bonobo (Ninja Tune Ltd)
2. Concept of an interactive shopping window at the Philips ExperienceLab at the HighTech Campus in Eindhoven The Netherlands.
And last but not least... the beautiful Maison Hermès digital window display in Tokyo(2009-2010).
The past few days the weather here in Thessaloniki goes something like this: Morning-sun, noon-wind, afternoon-rain. Well, friends all these elements of nature could be transformed into great amounts of energy with the use of the right technology.
I've already mentioned kinetic energy in a previous post (the one about wrist watches, remember?) but let's take it one step forward.
Scientists at the University of Bolton in the U.K. are developing a fiber that not only absorbs energy from the its wearer’s body movements, but also from surrounding elements such as the wind, rain, and sun.
Supported by £1 million in funding from the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry, Bolton researchers are working with their counterparts at GK Electronics and Nanchang Hangkong University in China to further develop its revolutionary material, which is flexible enough to be woven into clothing.
“Our hybrid photovoltaic-piezoelectric material has so much potential that it can be woven into everything, including laptop and mobile phone cases,” says Elias Siores, the university’s director of research.
“In its casing, the appliance could be charging, as it is handled or placed near sunlight. At home, a tree with needle-like fibers, like a pine tree, could be converting sun, wind, and rain into electrical energy which is stored ready for charging.”
Clothing that powers our phones and iPods? If this research has a successful outcome, this material could transform the fashion world.
Just a few weeks left for the end of the semester and my studies. Soon i'll be lying on the beach, enjoying the sun, reading my favourite books. I guess a common thought for the upcoming summer vacations...How about lying on the beach wearing a 3D printed bikini? Anything but common!
The N12 bikini is the world's first ready-to-wear, completely 3D-printed article of clothing. All of the pieces, closures included, are made directly by 3D printing and snap together without any sewing. N12 represents the beginning of what is possible for the near future.
N12 is named for the material it's made out of: Nylon 12. This solid nylon is created by the SLS 3D printing process. Shapeways calls this material "white, strong, and flexible", because its strength allows it to bend without breaking when printed very thin. With a minimum wall thickness of .7 mm, it is possible to make working springs and almost thread-like connections. For a bikini, the nylon is beautifully functional because it is waterproof and remarkably comfortable when wet.
It's been a really long time (!!!) since my last post. Things have been crazy lately...but enough with the irrelevant facts... back to work!
Yesterday i read an article in the LIFO (www.lifo.gr) about scientists inventing high-tech paper. Researchers in the University of Technology in Italy have turned plain paper into a "super-powered" paper. Waterproof, magnetic even antibacterial. Well, this surely is interesting. Scientists can see a major role of the antibacterial paper in the healthcare and the food industry, magnetic and fluorescent in official documents and money, and waterproofpaper in protecting significant documents.
In my point of view, with my usual/unusual thoughts i instantly made a connection with an exhibition hosted in the Benaki museum (www.benaki.gr) in 2007, "Χρατς, Μόδα απο χαρτί" (Fashion made of paper), and paper clothing in general.
Paper clothes first appeared in the 1960's. Paper dresses were a little more than just paper, they were usually composed of 93% cellulose and 7% nylon (like dry baby wipes), or sometimes made of "Dura-Weve," which was cellulose reinforced with rayon. Although they were indeed more fragile than cloth, they were not likely to rip at the slightest move. Many paper clothes also featured closures of Velcro, making them seem even more "space-age."Paper dresses sounded like the next great invention - convenient, cheap and fashionable.
Andy Warhol's Souper dress
So why aren't they around today? It certainly wasn't for lack of marketing. According to a Time Magazine article from 1967, "Sterling Paper believes in paper resort wear, the idea being that vacationers could buy paper clothes at the hotel when they arrive, throw them away when they depart, thus eliminating packing and carrying heavy luggage." Paper dresses were also lauded in fashion magazines of the times. However, the physical limitations of a dress made from paper were too great to large up to critical acclaim. Despite efforts to invent a durable paper-based fabric, the dresses ripped too easily. Also, though some dresses had chemicals added to prevent them catching fire, repeated washings removed this protection.
Can this past trend get back in the game with the help of future technologies? We'll just have to wait and see...
I thought it would be nice to see somecreations made of paper.
“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”
Albert Einstein
Recently l read an article about honey bees facing extinction. The decrease of their population reaches 35% in Europe and 85% in the middle East. Millions of colonies have died since 2006 in the U.S.A. The depopulation of bees could have a huge impact on the environment, which is reliant on the insects for pollination.
Karen Ingram's "Pollinator Frocks" are wearable gardens that attract and feed hungry bees. Featuring electron-microscopy images of pollen, coated with a nectar-like sugar solution that attracts and nourishes bees and as a result dresses mimic the way insects relate to flowers.
On the other hand, Amy Pliszkaproposes a series of expandable living spaces-textile hives crafted from pleated fabrics, ceramics, and wood. The Central Saint Martin's graduate conceived of "Bees Beside Us" by picturing the colony as her client, resulting in a mashup of art and science that not only calls attention to the vital role pollinators play in food security but also puts a fresh spin on our traditional notion of the beehive.
The materials she used had to be natural and biodegradable, but also water-resistant, breathable, and insulating. Equally important, the fabric forms had to be visually attractive to the bees, which explains their understated beauty.
What a beautiful sunny day today! I grabbed a cup of coffee and my ipod and had a long, long walk... Goodbye winter, hello summer!
The previous post was about a winter jacket which changes its colour, so now - in summer mood- lets take a look at a dress that changes its colour on reaction to sunlight and water.
Rainbow Winters project "Water reactive and Sun reactive dress" is a piece of art. A collection of interactive garments that change colour in response to water and sunlight. The fabrics are printed with thermochromic and hydrochromic inks. The results are amazing!
Water activated dress transforms the flowers and bodice into full colour
Sunlight transforms the colour of the dress, from pink to purple
Rainbow winters also created a unique swimsuit that is printed with similar sun-reactive technology, changing the central panel into purple dots when you lounge in the sun.
Stone Island is an Italian company famous for pushing the boundaries in fabric development. The heat-reactive jacket is a prime example of this.
Rivetti's Heat Reactive jacket changes its colour from black to green according the temperature.
It’s a liquid crystal heat-sensitive coating. Beginning at 27°C, the molecules within the coating undergo a rotation, modifying the light course. As a result the colour of the garment gradually begins to morph from the dark colour of the surface coating to the much lighter and brighter colour of the fabric base. When the garment returns to normal temperature, it recovers its original dark coating colour.
I love the thought that my clothes can change colour like a chameleon, although i wouldn't recommend wearing it on a first date or a job interview. Anxiety and stress rise the body temperature and you would be exposed!
I know, i know this post has nothing to do with future technologies in fashion. It's all about costumes, visual effects and animation. I just felt like sharing it with you.
Andrew Huang is a commercial and music video director and an exceptional artist. He's well known from his past sci-fi short film "Doll Face".
His latest work "SOLIPSIST" won the Special Jury prize for Experimental short in 2012 Slamdance Film Festival for...
" ...its unique blend of live action footage of the human body, puppetry and computer animation that creates a colourful and insightful fantasy world"
A dream-like journey full of colours and texture.
Release Date: 2012 Genre: Fantasy, Sci Fi, Experimental Studio: Moo Studios & Future You Films Directed byAndrew Huang Produced by Laura Merians & Stephanie Marshall Executive Producers David Lyons & Andrew Huang Cast Featuring Mary Elise Hayden, Marissa Merrill & Dustin Edward Director of Photography: Laura Merians Production Designer: Hugh Zeigler Costume Designer: Lindsey Mortensen Hair & Makeup Designer: Jennifer Cunningham Sound Design & Original Score: Andrew Huang Assistant Director: Elaine Gibson Production Manager: Sloane Hayes Skala Awards: Slamdance Film Festival - Special Jury Prize for Experimental Short A Moo Studios & Future You Production Copyright 2012 Andrew Huang All Rights Reserved.
An MA project of a young English designer. A combination of science and design. Amy Congdon (Central Saint Martins - MA Design for Textile Futures) experimented with eco fur, digital lace, eco friendly materials and biological textiles.
The outcome of the project was "2082:Extinct Collection", inspired by traditional patterns such as Paisley and using cells which are extinct in their original forms in the natural world. A blurry image of the designer, the craftsman and the scientist in the biotechnological future.
Romanticism and hi-tech aesthetics
"At some point, in the not too distant future, biotechnology is going to give the design world the biggest set of completely new materials and tools it has ever had the opportunity to play with." Amy Congdon
Lately i feel homesick / for many reasons. There are days that i wish i was at Corfu (the beautiful island i come from), with my friends and family, doing my favourite activities. One of the things i love among others, is riding my bike and cycling around the centre of the island especially at night.
In 2010, red dot winner Lee Myung Su, got me really excited with her amazing concept backpack for bicycle riders.
I love it! As far as i know, it is not available to the market(if i'm wrong please correct me and buy me one!). A detachable wireless controller enables various signals that are projected on the backpack. A great example of an inspired idea combined with technology. Safety comes first with a twist of style.
I haven't posted anything for a few days but believe me lately my time is limited. Talking about time...
Recently, a friend/member suggested i should post something about wrist watches. That gave me the idea of writing this post...
The first thing that came to my mind was my father's Seiko kinetic watch bought from Singapore in 1970. If you are wondering, kinetic energy is the energy of motion. The movement of the wrist it is worn on, powers the watch.The Seiko Watch Corporation introduced this type of watch in 1969. Louis Cartier created the watch as we know it today. His friend, Santos Dumont was a flying hero who needed a watch he could look at with just a flick of the wrist. By 1911 this watch was on the general market for sale. This early day version of the watch was the blueprint for the watch we use today. What will future wristwatches look like? I found some really interesting concepts. Would you wear any of them?
Sharing watch by Maezm I would definitely wear this one. My favourite, nothing fancy, just a face that is rotated 90 degrees from the traditional orientation, allowing others to read the watch when you hold your wrist up.
LED Binary code watches Quiz: Break the code! What time can you read on the watches above? I have no idea. This watch takes a lot of effort for sure...
eCO2 by James Kershaw Need some fresh air? This watch is powered by kinetic energy, purifies air that is passing through. For extra guilt-trip points, the watch connects via bluetooth to other devices and alerts you to how much carbon you are emitting.
Urwerk watch This watch is not a future concept but each year a collection of limited pieces are produced for those who can afford this kind of technological luxury. Believe me the cost is too high! It is the world's first wristwatch featuring an innovative winding system regulated by compressing air miniature turbines. Houston we have a problem!
Is fashion the new campaign for clean air? Can clothing and textiles be used as catalytic surface to purify air? It seems so...
Catalytic Clothing is the brainchild of the artist/designer Helen Storey (London College of Fashion) and University of Sheffield chemist Tony Ryan. Two people from very different worlds whose minds have come together over the recent years in highly successful art and science collaborations.
The venture, entitled Catalytic Clothing, is asking the public to join the campaign for clean air.
A dress that absorbs polluted city air and purifies it.
Model: Erin O'Connor Music: Radiohead
We have the opportunity, at this early stage, to shape the technology that has the potential to transform our lives.
Winter is coming almost to an end but it's still really cold. Coats, jackets, pants and skirts or dresses worn with tights keep us warm. You can find tights in a range of colour, prints, composition, transparent or not. But there is always one tiny problem...they don't stay in place, fall down and can easily be ruined.
The other day at school, my dear friend Margarita got really frustrated with her... tights! She wore a beautiful pair (blue with black dots) but they kept falling down and she kept pulling them up.
Have you ever been out on a date or with your friends, wearing tights, feeling and looking gorgeous and end up with a hole in them? Well i have, many times, come home looking like i've got into a cat fight!
Dr. Manel Torres joined forces with other scientists at Imperial College London to invent the spray, which forms a seamless fabric on contact with the body.
The spray consists of short fibres that are mixed into a solvent, allowing it to be sprayed from a can or high-pressure spray gun. The fibres are mixed with polymers that bind them together to form a fabric. The texture of the fabric can be varied by using wool, linen or acrylic fibres.
The fabric, which dries when it meets the skin, is very cold when it is sprayed on, a limitation that may frustrate hopes for spray-on trousers and other garments.
But how about tights? Imagine having a small spray bottle in your bag, and create and instant pair of tights on your legs, that can be de-solved and reused. Of course its just an idea and it can only be used for opaque tights but wouldn't it be great?
Well, another typical rainy day here in Thessaloniki. Just got home, soaked in water since i didn't carry an umbrella...
These days make you wish you had future technology clothing in your wardrobe. And especially nanotechnology hydrophobic clothes and shoes. Olympic games swim athletes, wear swimsuits named fastskin(speedo swimwear) made of material that absorbs a lot less water and in that way water resistance is being reduced, thus making them go faster. But how about a material that never gets wet? Stefan Seeger, lead researcher at the University of Zurich in 2008 presented a fabric made from polyester fibres coated with millions of tiny silicone filaments, and is the most water-repellent clothing-appropriate material ever created.
image by University of Zurich (Wiley Vch)
"The combination of the hydrophobic surface, chemistry and the nanostructure of the coating, results in the super-hydrophobic effect" Seeger explained to New Scientist magazine. "The water comes to rest on the top of the nanofilaments like a fakir sitting on a bed of nails".
Another invention based on nanotechnology and has to do with hydrophobic ability comes in the form of...a spray bottle! The following product makes surfaces hydrophobic. I would recommend to turn off the sound (trust me, the music is very annoying!) but the examples shown are very impressive!
Clothes, accessories, shoes that stay dry and clean. Don't need to be washed because they don't get dirty.
If i put my raincoat underwater to soak for two months eventually it would be wet. The uses are limitless but the result is only one. A surface, a fabric, shoes, clothes that never get wet or dirty!
Last year i read an article on the web version of "The Telegraph", that mentioned scientists have developed a prototype "invisibility cloak", similar to those worn by fictional wizard Harry Potter.
I found a lot of papers and researches from different scientists and universities around the world. These are the ones that i find more worth mentioning.I don't pretend to know anything about all this science involved but it goes something like this. People and objects reflect light and that light makes us visible. According to American scientists a combination of materials re-direct that light making it difficult for a man or an object to be seen.Japanese scientists take it one step forward and use reflective projection technology using a computer, a video camera and a projector that shows background images onto the front (something like the Apple ipad app "rubbing away your ipad screen"). An amazing fabric made of glass beads that can reflect light back to the source.
Scientists at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland have developed "smart flexible materials" named meta-flex that are made of tiny meta-atoms, which are engineered mixtures of metal and circuit board materials.
A meta-flex membrane placed on a disposable contact lens and illuminated with office light
These interact with visible light, changing the way the eye perceives an object by reducing its reflection and shadow.The researchers believe that the discovery could pave the way for the creation of "invisible" clothing. Previous studies involving the development of such clothing have been funded by military groups.
The inventions that had been engineered until now involving invisibility, could only exist on flat, hard surfaces rather than flexible ones. The Scottish researchers were able to develop a way of separating the atoms from the hard surfaces, allowing them to be used in creating flexible products like fabric.
The research was published in November's 2010 issue of New Journal of Physics.
Breaking News: The latest issue of New Journal of Physics(January 2012)published a new paper about this subject. Researchers in the US have, for the first time, cloaked a three-dimensional object standing in free space.
So, a lot of scientists are interested in making an "invisible cloak", that's for sure! And i think, a lot of us have wished at least once in our lives to be invisible...be patient my friends...it seems the much-talked-about invisibility clothing is coming one step closer to reality.
