ISSUE 1 THE FUTURE OF FASHION
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WHO MADE THIS
CONTRIBUTORS
NATALIE MASSENET The Net-A-Porter founder has a trend for 2016 - collaboration between competitors: “Successful businesses will be characterised by collaboration,” she says. “With others in their sector, different sectors, or with customers.”
DOUG ABRAHAM The banned-from-Instagram, New York-based collage artist says Steve Jobs is his hero. We wouldn’t of put money on that.
SUSIE LAU “Fashion is often mocked by the general public. Hopefully I can go some way to changing that,” says Lau (aka Susie Bubble) of her upcoming reportage for BBC World News, where she will bring global fashion weeks to a new audience – people who may not actually be interested in them (“That’s the challenge!”). A spearhead of fashion in the digital era, Lau has long since transcended the title of blogger to become a distinctive and respected voice in the industry,
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MASTHEAD
MASTHEAD
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF & CREATIVE DIRECTORS - David Rowan / Kim Grenaa FASHION PRODUCTION DIRECTOR & MANAGING EDITOR – Rozanna Pritz / Ironflag ART DIRECTION & GRAPHIC DESIGN – Mary Lees / Ironflag FASHION FEATURES DIRECTOR – Keryn Howarth SENIOR EDITOR – Matt Burgess FASHION DIRECTOR - Victoria Morris FASHION PRODUCTION COORDINATOR– Liat Clark ADVERTISING & SALES DIRECTOR – Jen Lokke / Cara McGoogan DISTRIBUTION & FINANCE DIRECTOR – Tom Vanderbilt GRAPHIC ASSISTANT – Anne Kristine Tollestrup PRINT DIRECTOR – Elliott Pickard PICTURE EDITOR – Helena Kawalec DEPUTY PICTURE EDITOR – Dolly Jones DEPUTY CREATIVE DIRECTOR – Ben Fraser INTERN – Emma Roxby HEAD OF DIGITAL – Wil Harris DIRECTOR OF VIDEO CONTENT – Danielle Bennison-Brown APP PRODUCER - Imactivate APP DESIGNER – Ciaran Christopher
PROTO MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY WIRED, 13 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1HN CONTACT US VIA THE FOLLOWING EMAIL ADDRESSES: Reader feedback: thoughts@proto.co.uk General editorial enquiries and requests: editorial@proto.co.uk Press Releases: pr@proto.co.uk CHAIRMAN & CHIEF EXECUTIVE, CONDE NAST INTERNATIONAL Jonathan Newhouse
COVER PHOTO PHOTOGRAPHER - Mel Wallis ART DIRECTOR & STYLIST - Rach Farar TALENT - Louise Lee
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EDITORIAL NOTE
THE LAND THAT STYLE FORGOT
Although people have been trying to merge Fashion with technology since 1960 when Thorp and Shannon, two MIT mathematics professors, embedded technology in to a shoe and consequently designed and constructed the world’s first wearable computer; it is only recently we’ve been using what would have been purely decorative to actually do something. It’s worth remembering that, although today’s fashion and technology industries seem to have very different value systems, they actually have a deeply integrated history which is not often recognised. We are progressively moving away from tech that is just used for monitoring performance in to areas much more sophisticated and advanced, becoming less about function and more about feeling. There is scope for our clothes to collect and display personal data and allow us to communicate, whilst also changing to reflect the latest fashionable colours and patterns of the season. Agins has declared the end of fashion, but only as it has been known historically. The fashion industry is forever innovating and adapting to change, and this is the reason why it has been able to grow at such a rapid pace to become the multi-billion-pound industry it is today. Despite still being a growing industry; as other sectors, from music to transport, are being radically reshaped by technology-driven innovation, fashion remains a laggard. Technology enables fashion to reinvent itself, it’s the time; the question is: what will designers do with technology?
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10-13 PHOTO STORY
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LETS TALK
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THE INFLUENCERS
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CULTURAL CALENDAR
31-33 FUTURE FORECASTS
53-63
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THE PROTO UNIVERSE
THE APP Alongside the magazine sits an accompanying augmented reality app that brings the pages to life. The concept is simple; scan images within the publication that feature the Proto logo by hovering over them, and receive video content around this. By combining digital and physical aspects we hope to give you more of an indication in to the capabilities of the designs and materials.
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THE UNIVERSE
DAILY BRIEFING Tune in to our live briefings that take place everyday with the Wired team live on the website. Up until now these have simply been focused on tech, but to extend your knowledge bank and get the creative juices flowing we will be expanding our topics to include fashion, beauty, retail and more.
INSTAGRAM Keep up to date with the world of fashion tech and get sneak previews of our next issue.
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“Innovation is cultivated when knowledge is shared” - Jenny Lee
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THE DESIGNERS
THE INFLUENCERS
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NEUROTIQ : SENSOREE
Imagine a time in the future when communication is not done through verbal speech, perhaps not even with hand motions or facial expressions. Imagine a time when we can speak to one another, no matter what our native languages are, via signals that our brains send to each other. This may one day be possible, but certainly not anytime in the near future. One fashion designer, named Kristin Neidlinger, with help from a company called MACHINIC, and colleagues Grant Patterson, and Nathan Tucker, has come up with a very unique headdress (the NEUROTiQ) that has the ability to show onlookers exactly how the wearer’s brain is functioning. While it’s not at the level of telepathic communication by any means, it is certainly a new concept in fashion design. Neidlinger, the founder of Sensoree, has put several interesting production methods together in the creation of NEUROTiQ, which is fabricated using
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14 3D printed synapse-like light points that she calls globules. These globules are equipped with LED lights that respond to 14 Emotiv Epoc EEG brain sensors which are placed in different areas on the wearer’s scalp. The colors that are shown, on these globules represent different states of the brain. For example, deep sleep is represented by the color red; meditation is orange; consciousness is yellowgreen; gamma is shown as blue, purple and red, depending on the exact brain state. To make the headdress both comfortable and provide it with more ability to move, Neidlinger combined the technology of 3D printing with that of traditional knitting. The globules were then embedded along with some electronics within a nylon knit, that took approximately 61 hours to create. The 3D printing of the globules was done on a Form 1 3D printer, and took 8-10 hours each to print out. In total, the 3D printing process took 102 hours.
THE DESIGNERS
“To make the forms flexible, I thought to combine traditional hand craft of knitting with the new technology of 3D printing,” said Neidlinger. “3D printing offers sculptural detail that is so fantastically intricate. I love the fact that you can dream up any design and make it tangible. The possibilities seem so vast – from designing jewelry to automated space stations, so why not space station jewelry? I am especially fond of working with Formlabs’ Form 1 3D printer. The resolution is so fine and the resin has a nice capture of light. So far we are delighted and cannot wait to see what will happen on the runway!”
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THE DESIGNERS
NOA RAVIV - HARD COPY
in collaboration with stratasys, one of the largest manufacturers of 3D printers in the world, raviv has deliberately developed manipulated digital images with computer modelling software; deformed pieces envisioned by a command that would be difficult for the technology to execute without setting a complex configuration of parameters, components, and codes. ‘these objects cannot be printed, nor produced in reality. they exist only in the virtual space. the tension between the real and the virtual, between 2D and 3D inspired me to create this collection,’ said the telaviv-based designer.
accents of orange that decorate the perimeters of the pleated textiles, a characteristic meant to symbolize the action of selecting the edge of a volume or surface in modelling software.
Following this motif, each item is a true representation of an alternate reality presented within the confines of screens. for example, the grid is a tool used within programs such autoCAD, and illustrator in order to grant designers the ability to understand size, scale, and proportion. within the context of the collection, the series of crisscrossing perpendicular vectors is referenced by lines of black and white polymers that articulate ruffled and undulating silk and tulle fabrics as they assume shapes similar to the traditional versions of bodices. this is contrasted by
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RAMI KADI - LUCIOLES
Lebanese designer Rami Kadi launched his haute couture fall-winter 2015-16 collection during Paris Fashion Week in July. ‘Lucioles’ (fireflies) is a collection born out of a struggle against a fear of insects and the fight to escape this phobia. While in the US, during his teens, Rami discovered fireflies and was instantly enchanted by these fairylike creatures, who bring light into the darkness. He then realised that insects aren’t all creepy crawlers. For this collection Rami put aside his fears and drew inspiration from the mysterious world of insects. Inspired by the aesthetics and graceful movements of these creatures, Rami created an innovative collection, which not only showcases embroidered insects and references to the horror genre, but also the light and magic that creatures like fireflies bring. The embroidery of each ensemble glows in the dark. Innovative, powerful and dynamic are words to describe this collection. It includes signature Rami Kadi silhouettes. Extravagant, floor length gowns and funky cocktail dresses in mostly black, decorated with white embroidered insects, sparkly embellishments, ostrich feathers and fur. The latter giving this collection a touch of regal style luxury.
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Fun fact: Rami invested hundreds of hours of work for certain styles, requiring specific techniques and knowhow ranging from sketch development to silk braiding, giving patterns a three-dimensional impression. True craftmanship! Rami does what only a few other designers dare to do: innovate. A lot of Paris Fashion Week designers, as famous as they might be, stay with what they know best. Season after season they release the most beautiful, breathtaking looks but after a few seasons I am starting to get a little bored. What a lot of designers lack is the courage to innovate and to take risks… afraid of losing their success. But… isn’t haute couture suppose to be like art? Exclusive, extravagant, innovative, nothing like the mass produced type of fashion? Young designers like Rami take that risk and dare to think outside of the box.
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THE DESIGNERS
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THE DESIGNERS
PHOTOCHROMIA “We are a small, but sure step towards reactive garments being integrated into our everyday lives. Even more so, we believe that collaboration within the design and technology world is essential and we hope to inspire future collaborations between NYC start-ups in the future. Let’s create a world full of enchanted objects rather than backlit screens.” - Maddy Maxey, Founder of The Crated
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IRIS VAN HERPEN
Iris van Herpen stands for a reciprocity between craftsmanship and innovation in technique and materials. She creates a modern view on Haute Couture that combines fine handwork techniques with digital technology .Van Herpen forces fashion to the extreme contradiction between beauty and regeneration. It is her unique way to reevaluate reality and so to express and underline individuality.
'Form follows function' is not a slogan with which I concur. On the contrary, I find that forms complement and change the body and thus the emotion. Movement, so essential to and in the body, is just as important in my work. By bringing form, structure and materials together in a new manner, I try to suggest and realize optimal tension and movement.�
The essence of van Herpen is expressing the character and emotions of a woman and to extend the shape of the feminine body in detail. She mixes craftsmanshipusing old and forgotten techniques- with innovation and materials inspired on the world to come.
Iris her designs require every time an unique treatment of material or even the creation of complete new materials. For this reason, Van Herpen prefers interdisciplinary research and often collaborates with other artists or scientists.
“For me fashion is an expression of art that is very close related to me and to my body. I see it as my expression of identity combined with desire, moods and cultural setting. In all my work I try to make clear that fashion is an artistic expression, showing and wearing art, and not just a functional and devoid of content or commercial tool. With my work I intend to show that fashion can certainly have an added value to the world, that it can be timeless and that its consumption can be less important then its beginning. Wearing clothing creates an exciting and imperative form of self-expression.
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THE DESIGNERS
3D PRINTSHOW
LONDON 2016
3D PRINT EDUCATION 25-26 MAY 2016
“New technology doesn’t have to mean the end of old technology.” - Ruth Jamieson
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WHAT’S ON
CULTURAL CALENDAR
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MUST SEE
3D PRINTSHOW London
MANUS X MACHINA New York
WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY SHOW London
Year on year, we see a thriving, growing and developing 3D printing community in the UK. From engineering and production through to arts and design, The 3D Printshow has created a platform to encourage the teaching, sharing and dissemination of 3D printing techniques and technologies. With that in mind, the London show will focus on education; to break down the barriers to adoption for the next generation.
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The Costume Institute’s spring 2016 exhibition, presented in the Museum’s Robert Lehman Wing, will explore how fashion designers are reconciling the handmade and the machine-made in the creation of haute couture and avant-garde readyto-wear. Versions that incorporate innovative processes, such as 3D printing, computer modeling, bonding and laminating, laser cutting, and ultrasonic welding will be on show.
The UK’s number one conference and event held at London’s ExCel. For 2016, The Wearable Technology Show will be even bigger - offering the world’s leading event for wearables and IOT Over 6,000 delegates will pack into London’s ExCel conference centre to hear from some of the top names in wearables, augmented reality and IOT.
ELECTRONIC SUPERHIGHWAY
GRADUATE FASHION WEEK
London
London
The Whitechapel Gallery presents us with Electronic Superhighway (2016-1966) a landmark exhibition that brings together over 100 artworks to show the impact of computer and Internet technologies on artists from the mid-1960s to the present day. The exhibition title is taken from a term coined in 1974 by South Korean video art pioneer Nam June Paik, who foresaw the potential of global connections through technology.
The world’s leading event celebrating the creativity of students and graduates within fashion. An unrivalled platform for the promotion of new talent, Graduate Fashion Week bridges the gap between graduation and employment and is responsible for launching the careers of some of the most successful designers of our time including Christopher Bailey, Stella McCartney, Giles Deacon and Matthew Williamson.
LABORATORY 12 London
For this exhibition Benjamin John Hall collaborated with material scientist Richard Beckett and wearable computing and tangible design researcher Nanda Khaorapapong and 3D print and CAD designer Martyn Carter. The combination of the embedded technical capabilities and Hall’s experience in expertly designed footwear makes each pair of shoes on display fully functioning and fully wearable.
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PHOTO STORY
ELECTRO-LUMINESCENT
PHOTOGRAPHER & RETOUCHER- Mel Wallis ART DIRECTOR & STYLIST - Rach Farrar TALENT - Louise Lee
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EXPERT INTERVIEW
LET’S TALK
INTERVIEWER: Mel Wallis EXPERT: Claire Duke-Woolley
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CLAIRE DUKE-WOOLLEY - Q&A Hi Claire, it’s great to finally meet you, can you briefly tell me a little about yourself and what you do? I’m a Fashion Tech Analyst at Beecham Research. Beecham Research is a research and consultancy firm specialising in the Internet of Things, and what really interests us about this area is that it’s about connecting people to the internet, and interacting with the new connected environments that are starting to emerge. It’s all about individuals rather than devices! In my work at Beecham I look at everything to do with Fashion tech including retail, smart materials and wearable tech. The majority of our work is custom projects, but we do also work on and release our own market briefs. We are really engaged in helping to shape this market area and helping people to see the huge opportunities and ways in which this could be realised. We originally started working in this area in
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2012 and launched our first report on Wearable Tech a year later. We have recently just launched a market brief on Augmented Reality & Wearables in Enterprise and are about to release another on Smart Clothing in Fashion. My background is originally in textile design and after completing an MA at the Royal College of Art in womenswear knitwear I worked in fashion for several years. My interest in tech grew out of learning to use new techniques and machinery in knitwear production, I then went to a show called Techno Sensual in Vienna and that really kick started and new career path for me! Francis Bitonti said "I don't want technologies that integrate with my body, I want clothing and accessories that make my body do things and feel things I have never thought I was capable of". Do you think this is something we are working towards?
I think the idea of wearables or fashion tech ‘making’ your body do anything is a phrase that many would be uncomfortable with. I don’t want technology that ‘makes’ me do anything. I want to engage with technology that allows me to achieve new possibilities. I think wearables that enhance your life and lifestyle is the direction that most companies are aiming for. Wether that's something that is just really beautiful and fun, or something that improves on, and even adds new, functionality to products you already use. Both are areas that a lot of people are working in, and there is thankfully starting to be a lot more cross development…e.g. something that’s functional should also be beautiful! I think most people working in wearable tech or fashion tech aren’t aiming to integrate technology with the body necessarily - that makes me think of implantables (which is very much a medical application
EXPERT INTERVIEW
area, that although part of WT, we don’t look at it as part of our work in this area). I think it’s more that they are trying to create great user experiences by making technology less obtrusive and disappear into the background so that we engage more meaningfully with it. Tech has to fit into our lifestyles, we should not have to conform it it or be restricted by it. We should not have to change our routines in order to adopt it, it should fit into our lives and enhance them. How long do you think it will take for wearable tech/fashion related tech to 'filter down' to the high street? (do you think this is something consumers want/need?) Do you think fashion tech is a timely subject? It’s already happening! It might not be in the mass market way that many people seem to be expecting, but wearable tech is already appearing on the highstreet. Topshop in particular has
launched tech integrated accessories. Nike, Adidas and others have been producing wearables for a number of years. Smart watches, tracking bands, notification bracelets and rings are available to buy. You have to search for it, it might not be in the most obvious places, but then there are no obvious retailers for these products. Also maybe here it’s important to say that this has always been a bottom up led industry, and only in recent years have we seen lots of publicity around top down activities from major brands. Many products are launched and realised through platforms like Kickstarter and Indegogo, which is all direct to consumer and about as bottom up as you can go! It’s just very difficult for brands and designers working at this market level to have mass market impact.
‘need’ is negligible. We buy new tops, shoes, jackets because we want them, rarely because we need them. I think this is why many companies in this area struggle with a business model when it come to wearable tech, essentially your not filling a need in the same way that you are in other market areas. Who do you think is currently leading the way in wearable tech/smart textiles innovation? Impossible question to answer, sorry! The hard truth is that there are no leaders as such, but there is absolutely amazing innovation across the board. If you wanted my opinion on a specific area, like for example 'in fashion driven smart clothing who are the companies to watch?', then I could suggest a range of companies working in that area who are producing really exciting things. But it’s just to broad a scope question as it stands.
I think in very fashion driven markets the term
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EXPERT INTERVEW
How important do you think it is that we make technology advancements seem more approachable and 'human’? I think it’s important that we take technology, and the opportunities/ possibilities it presents, and use it in designs for real people, with real needs and expectations. Rather than just presenting the technology as it is, it is important to present the possibilities. If I showed you an amazingly small and powerful battery, well it’s just not that exciting! If I showed you a beautiful LED embroidered dress and said it would powered for a week without needing to be charged ….now your talking! Most people don’t care about the tech itself, they care about what it means for them. In the same vein, making something with loads of tech in it and thinking people will love it because it does a million cool things is just totally unrealistic and
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a mistake that historically tech companies have been guilty of. What you end up with is an expensive, often unconsidered product, that does everything an appeals to no-one! The millennial generation has a huge appetite for learning and Fashion and technology are finally beginning to merge. Do you think people need to be more informed and educated about this? Yes! I think educating consumers is a hugely important part of this industry. Especially because the consumers with the most disposable income are not always the most technology literate. If you meant more in terms of the education system, then again yes, but it’s challenging for institutions to fund, and a lot of students at the moment are not demanding it. I think there’s a lack of awareness amongst students around just how much job roles are changing and how much you really need to know
to be job compatible. It’s a huge challenge for companies to find graduates with the right skills. Finally, how important do you think collaboration is? Essential. Honestly it really is. Our team at Beecham Research is multidisciplinary for that very reason. We practice what we preach! It’s important to learn that you cannot be the master of all that this industry requires, and you don’t need to be. Meet great people and work with them. Learn from each other. It’s challenging but truly rewarding.
THE TRENDS
FUTURE FORECAST
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TOMORROW IS TIMELESS
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THE TRENDS
2017 will see the future look to forgotten ideas and archives to reflect on the past to help us envisage what is to come. This a period for us to pause, remember and revive past creative ideas. The visual recipe will look at blending the natural world with transparent finishes and pastel colours. The Palace of Failed Optimism is a fictitious building created by WAI which brings forward the interest in old thoughts, the place is dedicated to ideas that never came true. The Babel Tower by artist Shirin Abedinirad and designer Gugo Torelli is modelled as an old utopian ideal, mixing modern materials, ancient history and our present world.
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SLOWOSOPHY Tech is slowing down, bringing with it the rise of quiet and meditative technology which allows users to interact in a more leisurely manner. Structures will reflect the organic forms of the natural world connecting this with the interaction and harsh finishes of digital materials, juxtaposing the two to create new views of how we envisage technology. This has become apparent with Slow Games from Ishac Bertran which is a video game that only allows you to make one move a day. This shows the ability to challenge how we engage in a slower setting. Paus, is a website that wants to help us slow down offering breathing exercises, colour exercises and sound breaks to tackle the issues that coincide with our 24/7 lives.
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SOFT TECH The trend ‘Soft Tech’ shows how brands and innovators are responding to a demand with more ‘feminised’ tech, trying to deliver a more human and emotional tech experience. (Claire Varga, 2015) Deceptive materials, haptic interaction, hyper-sensory experiences and tactile surfaces will give design a delicate strength, a steely intimacy. SXSW Interactive 2016 confirmed this trend; presenting calm technology, subtle interfaces and a more mediative approach to the digital world. Andy Puddicombe (2015) spoke at the event saying how we’re so early on in our relationship with technology, we haven’t yet worked out a skilful way to interact with it. Perhaps making technology a more seamless part of life like fashion, is the answer.
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THE TRENDS
THE TRENDS
UN-ANTHROPIC The anthropic principle is the law of human existence, our presence in this universe depends on numerous cosmological constants. If even a single variable were off, we would not exist. Originating from a fascination with the sea, a desire to know more has progressed in to a stronger curiosity of the universe and the unknown. The one way ticket to Mars and creation of future colonies highlight this obsession, encouraging people to think one day existence may be possible beyond this planet.
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THE TRENDS
THE TRENDS
Nebulaic visuals and mystical colours will leave a bewildered sensation. Embroidered elements add volume whilst representing the growing possibilities in outer space. Perspex and organza mirror the fluidity and vastness of the unknown and through thermossensitive coatings and holographic yarns, spectrum effects will transform the colour palette.
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THE TRENDS
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MEL WALLIS 2016