Fibers harvest energy from movement

On the never-ending quest to find an alternative source of power that is efficient and portable, researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology are exploring piezoelectric zinc oxide nanowires that harvest energy from the wearer's natural movement. Here's how they describe it on nanoarchitecture.net:

"The researchers constructed pairs of textile fibers covered with piezoelectric zinc oxide nanowires that generate electricity in response to applied mechanical stress. The resulting current flow from many fiber pairs woven into a shirt or jacket could allow the wearer’s body movement to power a range of portable electronic devices."

Now, imagine if the nanowires are woven into energy-generating textiles that are seamlessly integrated directly into the aesthetics, cut, and flow of a garment.

Low-res soft textile displays

Maggie Orth, founder of International Fashion Machines, has been working with soft computing and e-textiles. Her project, Running Plaid, explores the use of thermochromatic inks (color changing inks) incorporated into the textiles. The behavior is a fascinating visual shift in pattern and color coming from the yarns woven into the textile itself that behaves similar to a low-res textile display.

The opportunity is ripe for creating ambient soft displays integrated directly into the aesthetics of garments. Imagine weaving in RGB threads (red, green, and blue that make up the color pixels used in a color monitor display, for instance) to create a full color low-res soft textile screen that can be woven and sewn into any shape and incorporated directly into the pattern construction of any garment.

Visualizing the invisible

Agneilli Davide, Buzzini Dario, and Drori Tai at the now-closed Interaction Design Institute Ivrea, collaborated on exploratory projects that investigate the three-dimensionality of hertzian space. One of their projects called Fashion Victims, makes visible the space that surrounds us and the radiation that permeates it.

The project is implemented in a collection of garments including soft hats, shirts and bags that detect surrounding cell phone signals. The garments then “bleed” depending on the strength of the signal that results in changing the garment’s color. Each piece is meant to react once until it is completely saturated.

The implementation focuses on the “complex aesthetics” (as they describe) by seamlessly integrating technology into the form and textiles of the garments.

Striking the perfect balance

Kathryn Bauer, a recent graduate of New York University's ITP program, presented a project for her master's thesis, titled Ovu, The project tracks and detects fertility easily and fashionably.

One of the many things that makes this implementation so beautiful is that she considered the form of the garment and its implied meaning for her concept. She could have just as easily implemented the idea using a leg or arm band to get it working as a proof of concept. Instead, she chose a garment that implies intimacy and sex, a perfect match for fertility tracking and its context. Kudos to Bauer for striking a perfect balance between concept, integrated intelligence, and garment connotation.

Aesthetically augmented corsets

Francesca Lanzavecchia designed a line of incredibly beautiful back braces that focus on merging function with aesthetics. Her book, ProAesthetics: Disability Artifacts, explores the intersection between function and aesthetics that sparks a dialogue around disability aids and the context of the wearer. Normally taboo and hidden under your garments, Lanzavecchia makes these medical devices so beautiful that they could be worn as the outer garments themselves.

Gwendolyn Huskens is another designer exploring this topic. Her line of footwear called "Medic Esthetic" pushes our idea of how we wear and use foot braces. She considers the fashionable aspect and makes them so beautiful, it’s no longer necessary to be embarrassed and hide your ailment. In fact, I would wear these even without an ailment:

A wearable device that helps you walk

Honda recently unveiled a robotic wearable device that helps you walk. The seat is similar to a bike seat that connects a robotic leg to your shoes. It's strong enough to reduce the stress of body weight on the knees and gives you extra strength for actions like walking up stairs. Similarly, Cyberdyne created a full robotic wearable suit called HAL (Hybrid Assisted Limb) that enhances your natural physical capabilities by sensing and reacting to your nerve signals.

The technology is incredible, but aesthetically awkward if you had to walk around in public wearing one. This could be a great opportunity to integrate the technology directly into the aesthetics and textiles of the garment so if a wearer needed assistance, it would be as simple as putting on a pair of pants or slipping on a jacket. In fact, I would prance around town like a superhero if it looked like Dainese's gorgeous etched leather bike racing suit:

(source trendhunter.com)