Fashionable Technology

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Fashionable Technology October 06, 2008

A dress that receives satellite radio, a sweatshirt that displays headlines from Google News, and a massaging hoodie - clothes like these are the future of fashion, says a convincing new book.

„Aerial“ by Knowear (satellite radio dress with receiver glove)

Fashion designers have always been obsessed with the future - the look of it, that is. From Paco Rabanne's cult outfits for Jane Fonda in Barberella to Nicolas Ghesquiere's Tron and Terminator-inspired ready-to-wear for Balenciaga, spacey silhouettes are a perennial fashion statement.

But until very recently, those shiny, angular garments weren't capable of much beyond looking sharp on a runway. For sure, they utilized advanced textiles, but until star designer Hussein Chalayan debuted his gorgeous Swarovski-sponsored laser LED dresses in Tokyo, many in the fashion world considered "smart" clothing to be just another geek pastime - and a not very fashionable one at that.

Not so, says Parsons professor Sabine Seymour, whose recent book Fashionable Technology: The Intersection of Design, Fashion, Science, and Technology lovingly compiles a survey of this burgeoning field, as well as highlights the work of emerging designers such as Knowear, whose stunning and mod-inspired satellite radio dresses (seen above) are made with couture fabric.

Click on a picture to launch the image gallery (4 images)

Some of the most interesting breakthroughs in smart design are taking place in the streetwear industry. One of our favorites is (re)connect, a fleece sweatshirt with vibrating motors. Standard "I'm chilly" motions, like crossing your arms or hugging yourself trigger the motor in the back of the sweatshirt, which makes this massaging hoodie the most soothing garment we've ever seen.

Video: "Fashionable Technology" by Coolhunting.com, a fun guided tour of the Fashionable Technology launch party at NYC's Eyebeam Gallery:

by Rachel Doyle

The competition is over. Thanks to all of you for your ceative and inspiring ideas.
But as you all know there can only be one winner - and so the winner of our "Fashionable Technology" competition is: mainstage33. Her idea to combine fashion and sustainable development is really what we're looking forward to see in the future.

So congratulations to mainstage33 and if you haven't won this time, the next competition will be coming soon.

Your MINI Space Team.

Related Links:

Moondial

Category: Art & Design , Fashion , Video

Tags: fashion , fashionable technology , future , heat conducive , hussein chalayan , kate hartman , knowear , responsive , sabine seymour , smart clothing

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Any thoughts about this article? New ideas? More input? Just leave a comment!

posted by: dna | 11/01/2008 03:27 pm

Yeah!

posted by: Maffye | 10/27/2008 06:49 am

"Revolution Is Accelerated Evolution" ;}

posted by: misshill | 10/25/2008 02:21 am

Taking it on a very practical level; children wear. Knowing where the little one is, is it hot/cold etc. etc. Probably suitable for children under school age. Safety and awareness. And I believe (I hope!) there will be the day when we see fashionable, cool children clothing -not traditional pink for a girl, blue for a boy thing.

posted by: Sack | 10/24/2008 04:31 pm

Really makes Blu Blockers feel antiquated. I would love it if my clothes would wash and fold themselves, that would be worth pursuing...

posted by: Ezz_zombie | 10/24/2008 08:26 am

i'm not paranoid but i think satellite-radio-GPS clothes will just make us 24/7 being watched... imagine wherever u go there's a dot on someome's screen showing ur each and every moves...
or, clothes that displayes news and maybe advertsimenets so u actually PAY for clothes to become a walking advertisement and endorse certain brands that dont give a **** about u and all they want is your money..

i dunno, i maybe getting this all wrong and after reading the book i'd be convinced of the advantages, however, as my dear minispac-ers already mentioned, technology can -of course- be used to maybe heat ur clothes in winter and cool them in summer, protect u against diseases, change colors according to you mood or heartbeats rate, ...etc
u can have endless technological advantages if the companies that manufacture these clothes think about the goof for humanity rather than money :D

*oops, sorry for the long post =) *

posted by: jelen | 10/22/2008 06:22 am

sostenibilidad, confort, tejidos inteligentes, detectan frio, calor, lluvia, versatiles que puedan cambiar el color, que aprovechen la energia del sol para hacer funcionar el mp3...

posted by: The Walker | 10/21/2008 01:53 pm

That's easy - a MINI!

posted by: mainstage33 | 10/21/2008 01:04 pm

The epitome of this work would be when we are able to use the energy to fuel our houses, cars, appliances and everyday needs by simply being outside or perhaps moving for a certain number of minutes

posted by: crycepaul | 10/21/2008 12:13 pm

When fashion functions not just for the senses but for the intellect, then the technogenesis of fashion can be. It then transends time and fashion to become something we appreciate yet are not surprised by.

posted by: tigress2473 | 10/21/2008 11:19 am

The perfect combination of fashion and technology is where we can recycle materials an recreate their glory and the outfits don't look like they came from recycled materials. Also finding more "green" ways of producing the creations themselves. Creating more organic and intelligent fabrics and using part of the proceeds from the more efficient way we produce them to empower people less fortunate than we are in underdeveloped countries.