What is the future of fashion fabrics by Robyn Munro

What is the future of fashion fabrics? Smart textiles push the boundaries of design, reinventing the way we fashion our bodies today.

Abstract The following piece of literature answers the question of ‘What is the future of fashion fabrics’? It explores the reason why ‘Smart Textiles’ is the future of fashion fabrics and how it is changing the design industry. The exquisite designs and creations of smart textile designers will be discussed, and images of their work will be displayed and evaluated. The following paragraphs will provide the reasons why the collaboration of technology and science in textile design has had such an impressive impact in design, and will discuss why these new design capabilities are becoming the main inspiration for aspiring textile designers. The opinions and research discoveries of current textile student ‘Robyn Munro’ will be included in the text. She will prove through appropriate methodology how she is inspired by the intelligent new abilities of modern textile designs and how they have inspired design ideas for her final year project.

Contents Introduction

Literature Review of Smart Textiles

Transforming and Interactive Garments -

CuteCircuit

Eunjeong Jeon

Health and Well-being Textiles -

Cosmetotextiles

Sweet Suspension

Scough

Textile Design Student Survey

Textile Design Student Interview

Conclusion

Bibliography

Catalogue

31 3

‘K-Dress’ Designed By CuteCircuit (2013)

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Aqua Dressâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; LED lights embedded into the fabric, which change colour to create the feeling of tranquillity. Johansson, P. (2012)

Introduction 6

As an aspiring textile designer I feel it is important to design work that contributes to current movements in design and create innovative creations that allow me to emphasise my personal design style and skill. I want to design for the future, therefore I need to be aware of what the actual future of textile design is. In recent years innovation has became increasingly vital in textile design, it’s no longer just about creating beautiful and visually stunning designs but making those designs new and intriguing - that have never been created before. Designers now need to differentiate themselves from the competition by giving consumers something they haven’t seen before. It’s about pushing the boundaries of design and becoming the creator and inventor of new ideas. Over the years textile design has mainly been about creating fashionable fabrics and materials purely based on lookingappealing and feeling amazing, however the main aim of textile design is gradually changing, as consumer’s lust for new exciting and unique designs. Innovation is helping shape the future of textile design as designers collaborate with new techniques, technology and science. These collaborations help transform traditional textile designs into exquisite smart textiles that cater to consumer’s needs and desires. “The aims of textile design arechanging in a big way and smart textiles arepaving the way for this change” (Pailes-Friedman, 2014). As technology improves consumers thrive for the newest gadgets and want designs that give them an advantage as well as look good, therefore textile design is no different as consumers want on trend designs that also have more purpose and meaning- not just a beautiful piece of fabric. They want designs that have a benefit and that the consumer gains something form the purchase of the textile design.

Through current research and studies it is clear that collaborative design is driving the future of fashion textiles, as combining textile design with new techniques and technology is resulting in the production of astonishing fabric creations that are for more than one purpose, but still look alluring. Designers are faced with the challenge of designing cutting- edge textiles with beauty and meaning. Collaborative design is pushing textile design to become something consumerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not only want but need. It is clear from current research that smart textiles are the future of fashion fabrics and the methodical findings within this piece of literature will help support this statement and prove how the textile world is changing.

Figure 1 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;photo illuminant dressesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Dresses made from photo luminescent thread and embedded eye tracking technology from Ying Gao. The garments create a magical and other-worldly mood.

Literature Review Smart Textiles In the fashion textile world today it is clear that designs are no longer created for just the simple reason of looking good, designers are now showing the world that fabric and garment designs can have much more purpose and meaning. The textile industry now collaborates with technology and science to produce modernised and inspirational outcomes that will and has already started to change the way people see the design world. Fashion and textile design is gradually forming from creating garments that keep people looking on trend and fashionable to designing for more thrilling and intelligent purposes. Designers are also producing garment creations that can transform and change to create different looks and appearances, so they can be worn for multiple reasons or occasions and even for disguise.These creations can also be ways of being sustainable, as a transforming garment can mean three looks but the same amount of fabric. Garments can go from average to fascinating and wonderful. Most importantly there are designers amazingly creating garments made from fabrics and materials that can affect and actually help the human body. Even peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health can be improved by these genius design creations. Clothing can not only be extremely comfortable but therapeutic and soothing for the skin. Garments can now have a wholesome effect on body hygiene. These collaborations will have the most beneficial effect on the future of the design world. Its innovative deigns like these that inspire my final year project and encourage me to push the boundaries of traditional textiles like the prestigious designers that I have studied in the following paragraphs. The following textile innovations allowed me to see just how far textile design can be pushed proving there is no real limit to fashion fabric design.

Figure 2 CuteCircuit’s ‘Galaxy Dress’ 11

Transforming and interactive Garments

CuteCircuit Cutecircuit is a new and flourishing design brand producing astonishing electronic textile garments that change and transform. They are one of the examples of why smart textiles is the future of design, as they prove that garments can be so much more than fashionable fabric covering the body. “Our designs contain sensors, connectors, soft circuit boards, conductive fibres and power sources, yet have the look, feel and drape of ordinary garments”. (Genz, R. 2012, p27) In the short period of time they have been active, CuteCircuit’s input to the fashion textile industry has been abundant. Founding directors Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz design technological garments that are not only stunning in appearance, but comfortable to wear. The brand is seen to be revolutionary in their combination of textiles and technology. As technology is such an important factor in our lives today, its designs like these that are shaping the future of textile design, showing the world that the garments you wear can be just as intelligent as the gadgets we use every day. Designers like Rosella and Genz inspire other designers to create textile garments that have added value, that are beneficial to the consumer. CuteCircuit’s groundbreaking ‘Galaxy Dress’ (shown in figure 2) shows just how beautiful smart textiles can be, with its elegant silhouette of flowing smooth fabric. The technology is completely invisible until switched on. The garment appears as a glamorous dress, then transforms into an astonishing glowing gown of luminescent colours. (Shown in figure 3) The dress was constructed from four layers of silk chiffon, onto which tiny LEDs were embroidered using conductive threads to interconnect them with ultra-thin, flexible circuits.

“Although the surface of the dress contains an extensive layer of technological parts, the embroidery techniques we used enabled the fabric to drape smoothly across the body and move with lightness and fluidity.” (Rosella, F. 2012, p24)

Figure 3 ‘Galaxy Dress’

Figure 4‘ The K-Dress’ by Cutecircuit 14

CuteCircuit’s K-Dress (shown in fig 4) is an exquisite hand-pleated silk chiffon and silk taffeta dress made to light up in multiple colours and patterns for an enchanted effect. The dress is created from hundreds of miniature LEDs embedded in the fabric, which can be configured to glow and sparkle to create any pattern or colour combination the wearer chooses. The appearance of the dress can be controlled through a snap-in controller that can be charged via USB, once fully charged the garment will be shimmering all night. The K-dress was inspired by the renowned couture gown designed for Katy Perry’s appearance at the MET Costume Institute Gala in New York. (Shown in fig 3) The dress was made of masses of gorgeous flowing silk chiffon and over 3000 multi-coloured lights, creating a magical rainbow of glowing colours. The gown looked just as beautiful and stunning as many other designer ball gowns, with the added beauty of glowing colours to stand out at a prestigious event. Collaborating fashion and textile design with technology drives the future of design, as it bridges the gap between technology and fashion, allowing consumers to embrace the modern digital lifestyle of the 21st century. Figure 5 ‘Katy Perry MET Ball Dress’

Figure 4 CuteCircuit’s ‘K-Dress’ 15

Figure 6 CuteCircuitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s A/W 14/15 Collection

CuteCircuit’s Autunm/Winter 14/15 collection consists of the first ever fashionable garments that the wearer can control what they want their garment to look like through their mobile phone. (Shown in fig 6) Using the CuteCircuit app on their iphone the wearer can change the appearance of the garment by choosing any colours and patterns they wish. The design’s give women new experiences and ways to express themselves, through the process of changing the perception of fashion through innovation. (Shown in fig 7) These designs offer so many possibilities, allowing the wearer to choose and change the appearance of the garment means one dress becomes multiple dresses. You no longer need to worry about fast fashion or trends when you can transform the one garment. The most inspiring aspect of these designs is that they are designed to fit in with the latest fashion trends and seasons the only difference between CuteCircuit garments and average garments are that they can have an uniquely transform the surface decoration and colour when activated.

Figure 7 CuteCircuit’s Ready-to-Wear Collection

Figure 8

Eunjeong Jeo’s ‘Sensory Jacket’

Eunjeong Jeon The innovative Korean designer and researcher Eunjeong Jeon designs and engineers wearable textiles with the ability to sense, adapt and react to the human body. She shows the design world that smart textiles is the way forward for fashion and textile design, as her creations emphasise how garments can benefit the wearer, not by keeping them warm and on trend, but to make them feel safe and comfortable by responding to their emotions. “My textiles are designed to detect feelings such as fear and react by closing around the wearer to foster a greater sense of security.” (Jeon, J. 2013, p222) Jeon’s ‘Trans-For-M-otion’ collection consists of jacket-like textile garments that change texture and recompose their position on the wearer’s body. (Shown in fig 8) The designs were developed in relation to women she had interviewed about their every day feelings and experiences, as many of them confessed to feeling insecure at times. The garment moves around the wearer’s body to position its self in a way that will help the person feel more secure, increasing its function as a mask or disguise. As the crime rates have increased in recent years and still continue to rise, creating textile garments that are wearable and fashionable, with the added benefit of protection could attract many consumers and help the progression of recovering victims of crime feel protected and safe.

Jeon’s designs contain small cells that trap air that makes the garment work like a cushion due to the air unit structure. This helps the wearer protect their body, as the sense of protection is reinforced when the garment is positioned at the neck or along the shoulders. (Shown in fig 9) LED light technology is also ingrained within the garment that improves its reassuring function and allows the wearer to feel in less danger of their surroundings. Trans-For-M-otion’s exclusive sensory capabilities enable the collection to imitate a large variety of responses, forcing Jeon to become a pioneer in the arising field of sensory textiles. As a new and modern generation of textile design emerges, it is clear that the design functions of fashion textile design are changing to become so much more important and valuable. Intricate surfaces, refined structures and reactive technologies are guaranteed to revolutionize the way garments are created and worn. Smart textiles are sparking new and astonishing ideas for designers, which will pave the way to a huge change in fashion textile design in the future.

Figure 9 ‘Trans-For-M-otion’ by Eunjeong Jeon

Health and Well-being Textiles 21

New textile designs are being produced that can look attractive, feel good and benefit the wearer’s health and well-being. The uses of textile design is changing due to new findings in science and technology, the appearance of designs now have to work along-side the purpose of the design to give it innovative abilities. Through current literature it was discovered there are many inspirational designers helping thrust the capabilities within fashion and textile design to form its future. Fabrics are being created that contain a range of products, including medication, natural remedies, vitamins, UV-blockers, anti-bacterial/anti- microbial agents, mosquito and insect repellents, moisturizers and essential oils. All of these substances can be helpful and important for your health. Even fabrics are being developed with youth-giving properties, which contain anti-aging creams that are transferred on to the skin.

Cosmetotextiles Wearable skincare is a new discovery, where the benefits of cosmetics are combined with certain textiles to create innovative garments that alter and improve the look and health of the body. As clothes are worn daily this is a smart way to constantly keep your body healthy. Some of these ‘cosmetotextiles’ include chemicals that can remove excess fat, boost skin hydration and firmness and improve muscle tone, through incorporating micro particles of particular ingredients. These ingredients include caffeine (a microcirculation activator), Aloe vera (a moisturiser) and vitamin E (an anti-oxidant). These substances are released onto the skin by the movement of out body. Textiles are also being impregnated with essential oils with relaxing or invigorating properties, to create aroma therapeutic garments that will alter the mood and well-being of the wearer. A s a wide range of innovative ideas for health and well-being textiles emerge, the future of cosmetotextiles is promising and the changes within textile design is apparent.

‘Sweet Suspension’ 22

Samantha Murry, a University fashion graduate has proved that garments can make you feel good by producing fragrances. You do not have to worry about forgetting to put on perfume as the scented garments will make your body smell delicious. Her collection “Sweet Suspension”, of fruit scented garments is truly delightful. Each dress has a different scent: berry pink, passion fruit purple, peachy orange and lemon chiffon pie. To make her designs even more amazing they are made from liquid Fibreform – which involved pouring a solution into a plastic mould, creating a lightweight structure formed without a single thread or stitch. During the production process scents were added to the liquid. The garments are also incredibly light, each weighing no more than a kilo – adding to the feel good aim of her designs the light-weight material would be comfortable to wear. The designs are also sustainable as there is no waste. (Shown in figure10 & 11) “I’m really interested in sustainable fashion. My idea with using liquid is you don’t create any waste. You are only pouring exactly what is necessary.” (Murry, S. 2012) The purpose of this style of design is to make people look and more importantly feel good. When people feel good about themselves they become happier and happy leads to healthy. Appealing to peoples senses can be the future of textile design.

Figure 10 ‘Sweet Suspension Garment’

Figure 11 ‘The fruit scented dress’ by Samantha Murry

Scough

As the dangerous levels of pollution in our capital cities are being highlighted and health risks are arising people are becoming more conscious of their health and well being. The company ‘Scough’ has designed a collection of genius creations of scarves that liberally filter and clean the air we breathe. The scarves are stylish and beautifully handmade to give you a fashionable way of protecting yourself from harmful chemicals and viruses. (Shown in fig 9) Scough creates a mini-microclimate of freshened air that’s not just a barrier to a harsh germ and pollution-filled world, but is shown to adsorb and kill viruses and pollution before you breathe it. Besides helping keep you healthy, it’s a chic modern and super-soft scarf. Thanks to new designs and discoveries textile design can now protect you from pollution and viruses, increasing the importance of the design industry. Discoveries such as these are moulding the future of fashion textile design, to enhance its purpose in today’s society and assist the heath of consumer. “Health-Giving Fabric” is a fast- growing area, as large textile companies are giving prominence to such research. It is exciting to think that in years to come fashion and textiles could be a source of medication.

Figure 12 ‘Scough- Printed scarf’

Design Student Survey A group of twenty current textile design students, studying at Heriot Watt University participated in a brief survey about the ‘future of fashion textile design’. Each student answered a three questions conveying what they thought was the future of fashion fabrics. Do smart textiles inspire your current textile design work? An astonishing eighteen of the students feel smart textiles have inspired areas of their work, proving smart textiles has an impact on their current designs. This shows that smart textiles is inspiring the majority of textile design students, which proves that the collaboration of technology and science within the textile design industry is having a profound effect on the possible up and coming designers. Do you think innovation is an important factor in textile design? After revising the survey it was discovered that sixteen out of the twenty students feel innovation is the most important attribute of design, showing a large percentage of design students aspire to create innovative and new ideas within the textile practice. This uncovered that a small amount of students feel the beauty and stylish appearance of the textile design is their main focus and aim. Do you think the collaboration of smart textiles in design is the future of fashion fabrics? Over half of the textile students that participated answered yes to the proposed question and agreed with the statement of ‘Smart textiles push the boundaries of design, reinventing the way we fashion our bodies today’. This shows fourteen out of the twenty students agreed that smart textiles has a dramatic impact on textile design and see this changing the purposes and aims of textile design. Although six students disagreed with the statement the majority believe smart textiles are the future of fashion fabrics. This is an exciting outcome as it shows aspiring designers will contribute to the future of textile design by taking inspiration from innovative creations from smart textile designs.

Textile Design Student Interview I conducted a short interview to help support my statement that, ‘smart textiles is the future of design.’ Current student of Heriot Watt School of Textiles and Design, Olivia Varani expresses her opinion and belief of what she feels is the future of fashion fabrics. Miss Varani clearly admits technological and scientific textile design is the future, even though she is against this change in textile design. “Although I believe smart textiles are the future of textile design, I wish it wasn’t as I feel the traditional stunning appearance and beauty of a fabric design is where the designers true identify lies.” “If we concentrate too much on the capabilities of the design, the beauty and skill within the surface decoration might be forgotten.” These quotes from Olivia Varani show that she agrees with smart textiles being the future of fashion textile design, however in her opinion, she cares more about designing beautiful fashionable looking fabrics, which express her talent in pattern making rather than creating intelligent and technological designs. This interview helped prove that smart textiles are shaping the future of textile design whether or not designers want it too. A different insight and opinion on the subject allows me to evaluation research and ideas for my final year project, as the opinions of this current textile student remind me that I can’t forget the traditional aspect of textile design and I need to ensure my innovative designs still portray my talent in illustration and highlight my skill in pattern design.

Conclusion Through extensive research it is clear that, as the ability to integrate technology and science into textile garments rapidly improves and develops, the future of fashion fabrics gradually becomes more apparent. Current and aspiring designers lead new directions for wearable textile innovations, which promise to uncover new potentials in the future. It is truly exciting to think of the capabilities of smart textiles, which will be revealed in years to come. As there already is so many astounding and life changing designs being produced in the textile industry today, it is intriguing to think of what will be the next revolutionary designs to arise. The current design discoveries are only the tip of the iceberg, there is so much more to come as the capabilities of textiles can only improve. As a designer I feel my findings throughout my research methods have been extremely valuable in helping me highlight my aspirations for my current and future textile designs. As it is clear that smart textiles is driving the deign industry, I believe it is important to uncover my own innovative ideas and discover my own personal ways of pushing the boundaries or design. I would like to think that in the up in coming years ahead, that I will be helping shape the future of design and contributing to the smart textile future. Figure 13 CuteCircuit’s ‘Tweet Dress’ People’s tweets appear and glow on the garment to create the dresses colour and pattern.

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Catalogue Figure 1. Friedman, Rebeccah (2014) ‘photo illuminant dresses’ [Photograph] At:http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesstylefile/2014/05/07/what-is-the-future-of-fabric-these-smarttextiles-will-blow-your-mind/ (Accessed on 10/12/14) Figure 2 & 3. Jaskanka, Alena (2013) ‘Galaxy Dress’ [Photograph] In: Quinn, Bradley. Textile Visionaries, London: Thames &Hudson. p22 Figure 4. ‘The K-Dress’(2013) [Photograph] In: Quinn, Bradley. Textile Visionaries, London: Thames &Hudson. p23 Figure 5. Rosella, Francesca (2013) ‘Katy Perry MET Ball Dress’ [Photograph] At: http://cutecircuit.com/collections/katy-perry-at-met-ball/ (Accessed 10/12/14) Figure 6. Geil, Domen (2014)‘CuteCircuit’s A/W 14/15 Collection’ [Photograph] In: http://cutecircuit.com/collections/aw-14-15/ (Accessed 9/12/14) Figure 7. Geil, Domen (2014)’Ready-to-wear collection’ [Photograph] At: http://cutecircuit.com/collections/aw-14-15/ (Accessed 28/11/14) Figure 8. Jeon, Eunjeong (2012) ‘Sensory Jacket’ [Photograph] In: Quinn, Bradley. Textile Visionaries, London: Thames &Hudson. p223 Figure 9. Jeon, Eunjeong (2012) ‘Trans-For-M-otion’ [Photograph] In: Quinn, Bradley. Textile Visionaries, London: Thames &Hudson. p224 Figure 10. Murry, Samantha (2012) ‘Sweet Suspension Garment’ [Photograph; turning fruit scented liquids into couture] At:http://www.ecouterre.com/new-zealand-designer-samantha-murray-turns-fruitscented-liquids-into-couture/ (Accessed on 19/11/14)

Figure 11. Murry, Samantha (2012) ‘The fruit scented dress’ [Photograph; turning fruit scented liquids into couture] At:http://www.ecouterre.com/new-zealand-designer-samantha-murray-turns-fruit-scentedliquids-into-couture/ (Accessed on 20/11/14) Figure 12. Rasch, Joseph (2014)‘Scough- Printed scarf’ [Photograph] At: http://wearascough.com/pages/how-it-works (Accessed 2/12/14) Figure 13. Rosella, Francesca. (2014) ‘Twitter Dress’ [Photograph] At:http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesstylefile/2014/05/07/what-is-the-future-of-fabric-thesesmart-textiles-will-blow-your-mind/ (Accessed 29/11/14)