tactile
CREDITS AND CONTRIBUTORS
IMAGE CREDITS
The purpose and intent of this publication is not for sale or profit and has been completed in fulfillment of the BA(Hons) Fashion Journalism course at the London College of Fashion
p9-11, 26 ©Ryan Lee Vincent p13-15 ©Iris Van Herpen p16-17 courtesy of ©Noa Raviv p18-19 ©Danit Peleg p20, 22-23 ©Jessica Smarsch p24-25 ©Iona Inglesby, ©Dot One p28-31 courtesy of Sjoerd Ebbernik ©ByBorre p32, 34 courtesy of and ©Giulia Tostamello p35 courtesy of Mika Satomi / Dileck on Flickr p36, 38-40 courtesy of Kristin Neidlinger ©Sensoree p37 courtesy of Sharlene Sternberg ©Sensoria p41-45 courtesy of Zara Tisma ©Google, ©Levi Strauss p46 ©Helen Storey
All written content by Ryan Lee Vincent
tactile Issue 001 May 2016
Cover embroidery by Carmen Manzano for Tactile
Letter from
the editor Tactile was born out of a simple idea: collaboration. In 2014 I visited the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam, there was a small exhibition featuring a building which has, in short, been constructed entirely using 3D printing. Pieced together from thousands of 3D printed blocks, the undertaking required the collaborative efforts of architects, engineers, 3D printing specialists and designers to make it all happen. The effort ended up enhancing both the quality and method of 3D printing, reduced the carbon footprint and environmental cost of building the structure and essentially created an entirely new method for fashioning a structure. This collaboration made me wonder: why aren’t similar things happening in fashion? Wearable technology and 3D printing certainly represent an exciting meeting point for both industries but the two are still generally considered as secondary to one another. Fashion as the inevitable consequence of creating a smart watch, technology the inevitable benefactor in 3D printing a shoe. Far less explored are symbiotic relationships between the two industries in which each is benefitting the other. Through Tactile I not only want to showcase these kinds of collaborations and innovations, but I also hope to inspire them and to provide a platform where such collaborations can begin. Throughout the conceptualisation and development stages of Tactile, I started to realise that the future I envisioned for fashion and technology was already here, was already within reach. Tactile began to transform. While maintaining a vision for the publication to act as a catalyst for collaboration, I also wanted to make people realise that sustainability, technology and innovation are already flourishing in remote pockets of both industries. The future is already tactile. The first issue of Tactile sets out to be just that: a publication that seeks to inspire a better future for both industries, and one that celebrates the luminaries who are already leading us into that future. Finally, an immense thank you to all who contributed to the realisation of the first issue of Tactile.
Ryan Lee Vincent Editor and founder, Tactile
CONTENTS
8
9
Virtual Virgins
WTS 2016
Q&A Mo Zhou
ByBorre
41
46
It’s in the Jeans
Professor Helen Storey
26
28
12
20
New Dimensions
Designer Data
Fashioning the Future
Fashion Therapy
Editorial
001
32
36
48 I S S U E
VIRTUAL VIRGINS First impressions of virtual reality Back in January, Tactile had some fashion students and professors test out virtual reality for the first time. To see their reactions as they had their first go at using the technology, head to rleevincent.com to see the film: Virtual Virgins. Beyond using these subjects for a bit of a laugh, Tactile was also interested in gleaning their unique insights on how the technology might be used for the fashion industry in the future. Check out what our virtual virgins had to say below:
SOPHIE NEWMAN, FASHION JOURNALISM STUDENT
“It’s a really cool concept. Say you have an up and coming designer who doesn’t have a real prototype of what they’re trying to sell yet, or they want to show you how much time and effort went into a garment as it’s maybe more individual, this would be a really good way of showing it.”
It cuts out the middleman – this is my vision, in your face JOSEPHINE COLLINS, COURSE LEADER, FASHION JOURNALISM, LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION
“It will have to be quite audience specific. It’s quite a young idea, but a lot of people who are in the industry and manage it are older. So it would have to be very carefully targeted, otherwise it would be great for young fashion brands.”
LAKEISHA GOEDLUCK, FASHION JOURNALISM STUDENT
“I think it’s quite clever, you can draw up plans et cetera or even in meetings people try as hard as they can in power point presentations or otherwise to explain their vision, but nothing is as effective as placing someone in that environment. It cuts out the middleman – this is my vision, in your face.”
W
earable technology show 2016
The 2016 Wearable Technology Show (WTS) in London, the largest conference and exhibition space for wearable technology in Europe, showcased over 140 exhibitors and more than 40 product launches. There was no shortage of spectacle throughout the two-day conference from the 15-16 March and no shortage of gimmick either. With virtual reality aplenty and countless consultancies claiming they could bring companies into the digital age through their technological know-how, it was easy to get swept up in the pomp and circumstance of the show, which cultivated an invigorating and cheery idealism that blanketed the exhibition space. Every innovation and every product was accompanied by an equally enticing brand ambassador or founder, imbuing even the blander products with a palpable, and marketable, energy of inventiveness and opportunity. With the show done and dusted, we present our picks for some of the most thrilling innovations at the show.
MaintoolMe
“When I walked into this room, nobody knew I was wearing a smartwatch,” said MaintoolMe founder Hussain Ahmed, summarising the essence of the company’s innovation as he addressed the curious audience of WTS 2016. MaintoolMe’s objective is simple: turn any watch into a smartwatch. Working with Swiss watch makers, MaintoolMe integrates a simple circuit board into a leather strap that can then be attached to a watch face. The strap is loaded up with nearly everything a smart watch has, sans screen of course.
Walk With Path
It’s because of technologies like Walk with Path that the future of wearable technology is shaping up to be a bright one indeed. Essentially a therapeutic device, Walk with Path is an insertable insole for footwear that tracks pressure changes and imbalances in the user. The insole then creates feedback via a subtle vibration, allowing users with desensitised nerves in their legs and feet to maintain healthy and non-damaging gait, posture and technique while walking and exercising. Due to the highly technical nature of the device, the data collected, even once filtered through the wearable’s analytics, may be difficult for everyday users to understand and make use of. That’s where this device differs from a lot of mainstream wearables: much of the data collected is not only made available to the user, but is also sent to their sports therapist, doctor or physical therapist. The feedback and data collection enabled by this technology presents a future of healthcare that is tailored more acutely to each individual patient, allowing real-time patient monitoring outside of the controlled environment of a doctor’s office.
Tespack
Sustainability and innovation often go hand in hand. When utility is added into the blend, however, products become truly sensational. TesPack has created a kind of hyper-thin, flexible solar panel that can be attached, removed and reconfigured across a variety of accessories from heavy-duty luggage to outerwear. TesPack’s technologies are still in development, but the company has its sights on taking on the fashion industry at large in the near future. Brand representatives at WTS 2016 couldn’t disclose precisely with whom they are working, but collaborations in the near future will yield even further applications for TesPack’s technologies.
Bonnie Binary
Having quite literally the flashiest stall at WTS 2016, Bonnie Binary integrates conductive threads into her designs, creating wearable interfaces to control sound and lighting systems as well as connected devices like your phone or computer. Annie Lywood, coordinator and founder of Bonnie Binary, now works as a consultant for prototyping e-textiles and haptic technologies.
Oura
Health and fitness tracking seems to be the norm, and possibly the main criterion, for classifying an object as wearable technology and is found in countless manifestations of wearable inventions. One thing is clear: Oura is nothing new in technological terms. Instead, Oura lays its claim to a spot on this list for the simplicity of its execution. A small, shockingly light and wonderfully minimal design cocoons all the compressed technologies that have become staples of contemporary smart devices. Through motion tracking, heart rate and respiratory monitoring and an accompanying app, Oura analyses and visualises the data it collects into simple, actionable insights. With none of the technology actually exposed, and no interface on the product itself, Oura echoed a dominant motif of WTS 2016: invisible technology.
Infi-Tex
Infi-Tex is a smart sensor innovator creating haptic technology that uses pressure sensitive textiles in manufacturing clothing and accessories. These pressure-sensitive materials have a diverse range of applications from child monitoring blankets, to high-performance athletic textiles that track comprehensive fitness data. What was particularly interesting at Infi-tex’s WTS 2016 stand, however, was a conductive Velcro that allowed a variety of technologies and tools to be attached to a specialised skiing/hiking jacket. These apparatuses included a light, a phone charger and a small solar panel to charge the batteries hidden inside the jacket.
AiQ
While textile innovation in the realm of e-textiles and embedded technology may seem new to some, the researchers and engineers at AiQ have been in the game for the better part of the last decade. A Taiwanese company, AiQ launched seven years ago with technology integrated textiles with uses from EMI radiation blocking clothing lines for pregnant women, to textile-embedded RFID tracking and monitoring apparatuses. AiQ follows a business model that cropped up a lot at WTS 2016, offering their technology to interested parties and working with them to make their products smarter and bring them forward into the realm of connected devices. Being one of the first firms at the show to practice this kind of model, and one of the more globally influential, AiQ represents exactly the kinds of collaborations between the tech and fashion industries we’re hoping to see a lot more of in the future.
Forster Rohner
Manufacturing e-textiles, Forster Rohner works primarily across four kinds of textile embedded technologies: textile conductors, heating, sensors and lighting. While the company has previously functioned as a material innovation consultancy and manufacturer, Forster Rohner presented a dynamic product at WTS 2016 showcasing some of the more practical applications for their technologies. Launching the product at WTS, Forster Rohner presented a new kind of cycling jacket, designed to enhance road safety and decrease tensions between car drivers and cyclists. Upon first glance, the jacket is just like any other. Turn the jacket on and it becomes a dynamic device, using embedded accelerometers, motion tracking and speedometers to illuminate turn and braking signals on the back of the jacket as the cyclist travels.
New Dimensions
the pioneering names in 3D-printed fashion In October of 2015, The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced the theme for their spring costume institute exhibition opening this month: “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.� At the forefront of the exhibition is the rising prevalence of machine-made fashions and crafting techniques of the digital age including 3D printing technology. Very few technologies since the industrial revolution have promised to change the processes of manufacturing as 3D printing has been so widely touted to do.
While the technology is still in its infancy, designers and consumers alike are fascinated by the democratising power of the technology, which essentially unifies the design and manufacturing process within the confines of a single machine. 3D printing has been used to build everything from houses to medical implants and is taking a position of influence within the fashion industry as well. From wearable exoskeletons to fine, calculated detailing and embellishing techniques, Tactile presents three of the most enticing applications of 3D printing in the fashion industry so far.
Iris Perhaps the name most synonymous with 3D-printed fashion, Iris Van Herpen’s elaborate and exquisitely executed designs manifest more like organic fractals than artificially produced materials. Her 2011 Haute Couture collections, Capriole and Escapism, launched her into the public eye. The skeletal Capriole was featured in Karl Lagerfeld’s Little Black Dress series presented at the Saatchi Gallery in London and was worn by the ethereal Mila Jovovich, while Van Herpen has
more recently been named the fashion muse of Icelandic musical marvel and fashion-icon Bjork. Van Herpen collaborates extensively to create Haute Couture that is more suited to the archives of art museums than the runway. Her most recent collection, Wilderness Embodied, was produced in collaboration with Jolan van der Wiel and presents a variety of highly textured and detailed forms, equal parts natural and impossible: the perfect blend of beauty and wonderment.
Van Herpen
Iris Van Herpen, WIlderness Embodied
Noa Raviv
Noa Raviv’s designs, folding and exploding into and out of themselves, are artefacts of the process of 3D rendering itself. One of the first designers to challenge the method of rendering involved in printing a 3D object, Raviv hacks the process by corrupting the 3D drawings before piecing them together in a blend of fabric and ribbed 3D printed polymers.
Her designs have an inherent tension, derived from impossibly contorted grids produced in two dimensions using rendering software and reconstructed in 3D in an effort to meld the impossible with the tangible.
Danit Peleg
A new name on the scene but an incredibly important one nonetheless, Danit Peleg finds a spot on this list not for the wonderfully minimalist nature of her designs, but for the method of 3D manufacturing she has mastered.
One of the key limitations of 3D printed products thus far has been their almost complete lack of flexibility. While 3D
printing allows for the production of intricate and otherwise impossible detailing and execution, the final product is nearly always a static form. Peleg changed everything. Creating a textile using a method of fastening 3D printed links together, not dissimilar to how chainmail is constructed, Peleg has created a kind of flexible 3D printed textile.
DESIGNER DATA the designers visualising data through design
Countless data sets and unimaginably vast archives of data exist to define each and every one of us living in technologically adept societies. What this means for some borders on the Orwellian while others take to this immense wealth of new resources with a very different mindset.
fiber tensions, and therefore result in dimensional effects. In this way, the textural result really illustrated the movement that created the patterns.” The unique approach Smarsch takes to her process results in “a customized end product that is personal and unique,” Smarsch explains.
Designers like Jessica Smarsch are taking this data and giving it life, abstracting objectivity through tactile objects. While Smarsch uses industrial looms and a computerised process to develop her textured garments, her designs are founded in more traditional methods: “Any kind of textile-making is a kind of meditative process… when we design textiles on the computer with a mouse and then weave it on industrial looms, this form of engagement is altered, perhaps even lost. So the focus was really about process. How could I tap into this process of mind/body connectivity through pattern, rhythm and repetition and apply it to the way we industrially produce textiles today?”
Another designer utilizing data to inform their design process, Iona Inglesby, founder of Dot One, takes personalization to the next level, using data derived from DNA to create woven patterns.
Smarsch’s constructing connectivity range, highly textured and intricately fabricated, pulsates with craftsmanship, echoing the strange dichotomy between the machine woven garments and the human movements that informed their aesthetic: recorded muscle movements which Smarsch translates into textured designs.
Inglesby took inspiration from Scottish tradition to develop the signature designs of Dot One: “I was working on a project with a Scottish weaving company to ‘add innovation’ into their traditional systems and came across their catalogue of Tartan fabrics. Each fabric was affiliated to a different family name but there was no reason behind the colours or patterns. I wanted to update this system to make truly personal materials and so I came up with the idea of using DNA to code the designs.”
The patchwork-like geometric patterns of Dot One’s textiles create strange and intricate colour palettes unique to each customer, allowing her designs to communicate far more than personal aesthetic or clan affiliation: “I basically got my family DNA tested and waited to see what the raw The tension and harmony between the human and data looked like and how I could analyse it to technical aspects of each garment are a reflection show family relationships. Once I figured out the of the process Smarsch developed for the collec- logic, I started to apply a colour system to replace tion: “As I was essentially measuring the tension the numbers so that it was instantly visible how of my muscle fibers, I wanted to create a woven similar two people were, or which part of the data construction that would also play with opposing was inherited from which parent.”
Jessica Smarsch, constructing connectivity collection
Inglesby believes the complex communication enabled by those literate with the Dot One’s system is a unique feature of data driven design: “We have more and more access and understanding of the data around us, whether it is inside our computers or inside ourselves. It is quite hard for people to relate to raw numbers so I think that design in general (including fashion) has an important part to play humanising data and creating a way to get information into the public domain whether it is to make a statement, for education or just for enjoyment.” The idea that design could be used for educational purposes through its translation of data has not gone unnoticed outside the fashion industry. Nicola Fawcett, a clinical research fellow at Oxford University, believes the power of design should not be underestimated when it comes to understanding data stating to Tactile: “I have found no better way to communicate how molecular biology works than by giving people something they can touch.” Fawcett’s forays into fashion have extended into elaborate collaborations with designer Anna Dumitriu, creating the “Sequence Dress”, exhibited at the Wellcome Collection and V&A in London. The patterns, design and accompanying projections for the dress were all derived from the data of 2.8 million base pairs of the sequenced DNA of the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, exploring the influence of new technology which allows for full genome sequencing. This kind of symbiotic relationship empowers both designer and scientist, allowing fashion to move beyond its assumed role of externalising personal identities and legitimising it within the realm of academia and research. Smarsch and Inglesby have excelled in grounding and humanising data within fashion and product, however the wider implications of their practices and those of collaborative projects like the “Sequence Dress” could foreshadow a future of more communicative, or even educational garments.
Iona Inglesby, Dot One
I have found no better way to communicate how molecular biology works than by giving people something they can touch.
Visions of branded virtual realities The virtual reality market is set to expand by 99% in the next five years, making it an attractive and lucrative prospect for businesses, marketers and audiences. Mo Zhou, a final year Creative Direction student at the London College of Fashion is working with virtual reality to build a branded environment for customers of her brand, Envois. Tactile interviews Zhou on what inspired her to work with VR and her vision of a future of branded, virtual realities..
Tactile: Why did you choose to work with virtual reality on your project?
T: How do you plan to distribute the technology / experience?
Mo Zhou: I chose virtual reality for a couple of reasons. The first reason is because my brand itself is focused on contemporary design and contemporary culture and virtual reality is a post-modern, contemporary technology that has only developed recently. It’s going to be more popular from this point on so I want to bring this technology into my project. Also, Virtual reality gives another dimension to film as it has a lot of capabilities that normal, traditional screening cannot have, so I want to use it to create an experience, letting my customers use this technology while enjoying my product.
MZ: I’m selling scarves so for the packaging of the scarf, the box will have a laser cut-out, self-assembled Google Cardboard, where you can build it yourself in five simple steps, clip your phone into it and watch the VR films using the headset built into the packaging.
T: What kind of experience are you expecting your users to have with your film? MZ: I want to trigger emotions by using VR. Through some research and previous, personal experiences I’ve realised that experience can give you another feeling, it triggers emotions using all five sense. VR covers a lot of them. If you watch a fashion film, whether it’s part of a campaign or for pure pleasure, 2D or 3D screening doesn’t always trigger emotions where you actually feel like something is near you or happening to you. T: And do you think VR can give people that? MZ: Yes. It can. If you try it, it really feels like you’re in another world, another world than you are in reality. There are limitations when it comes to the technology because it’s so new, but the experience itself is still stronger than what we have right now in most film and media. T: So you’ve said you want people to have an emotional experience with your brand, what kinds of emotions are you wanting people to feel? MZ: I find the emotions that VR can trigger best are shock and surprise because it’s so realistic it’s hard to distinguish what’s real or hyper-real screening. I want my customers to feel like they’re experiencing a world that I’ve built for them to experience the brand identity first hand, it sort of reinforces the brand’s core values and product in the customer’s mind while they’re exploring the space I’ve built for them. T: Do you think that will translate into brand loyalty? MZ: Yeah, it definitely could. T: To purchases as well? MZ: Yes, for sure. It gives you such a realistic experience, triggering emotions and then they’ll respond accordingly by buying [the] product. That’s the idea at least!
T: How do you think more labels and brands can use VR effectively, beyond just a gimmick? MZ: I think there are so many avenues people haven’t explored yet. Right now a lot of brands are just doing 360 degree catwalk shows and store tours, but I don’t think that really fulfils the potential of VR. I think brands could use it to further the storytelling and environment-building facets of branding. It kind of references a theory from Baudrillard and how Disneyland is built, instead of bringing people to the world, bring the world to the people. T: Do you see VR being integrated into fashion more effectively, and how do you see that happening? MZ: Yeah, I think it will but it’ll take some time. The technology isn’t very mature at the moment and a lot of things are still in development, from the equipment to shoot [VR films] and the equipment to view the films. So I think maybe in a few years people will have more versatile ways to shoot and view VR films and when it becomes more practical, companies can start using it more successfully as a marketing tool to promote their brand or whatever else they want to achieve. T: So do you think that would require more collaboration between the tech and fashion industries? MZ: Definitely. The equipment is pretty difficult to operate and the skills and work required is nearly unlimited, it takes a lot of time so preparation definitely requires a lot of people involved in the team. T: I think the fashion industry is quite eager to use this technology but how would you encourage people on the tech side to get involved in VR applications for the fashion industry? MZ: Contacts are key. The internet is a huge platform for reaching out to people. Myself, I’m posting collaboration requests on Facebook and so many VR editors and filmmakers have contacted me, so I think there’s an interest on that side too. T: So what do you think makes the fashion industry attractive for the tech industry? MZ: The storytelling. Fashion, style and aesthetic can all be incorporated into something so technical and scientific, beyond just trends. I think that’s the interesting point for them, and that’s what they’ve been telling me as well.
It is estimated that air pollution contributes to 1.2 to 2 million deaths annually in China. With China’s capital of Beijing sheathed in clouds of particulate matter produced by factories nearby and within the city on a near constant basis, its people are subjected to conditions of low-visibility and air that’s more harmful to a person’s lungs than smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. While China continues to strive for balance between its rapid economic expansion and the environmental repercussions of its meteoric rise in global influence, traditional solutions for China’s pollution problem have played out in the form of shortterm solutions. Manufacturing
restrictions are commonplace, with Beijing shutting down factories for days on end to bring pollution to more manageable, healthier levels around Chinese New Year and other major events and occasions in the city. However, these short-term solutions are just that, short-term, leaving the people of Beijing with more days of unhealthy pollution levels in a year than there are good days. When Dutch company ByBorre presented their collection of high-spec textiles and clothing at Beijing Design week in 2015, they set out to demonstrate another method of mitigating the harmful effects of pollution:
wearing a onesie. ByBorre calls their wonder onesie the BB.suit. The label took the opportunity of presenting in Beijing to launch the BB.suit as a concept piece tailored to unique, location-based challenges to make the life of the user easier in more meaningful ways. For Beijing Design Week, this meant tackling pollution. ByBorre handles both the tech and design process of creating a BB.suit in house, utilising a design that essentially turns the suit into a modular device, adding and subtracting components and features depending on the user’s needs.
Atelier director and design lead at ByBorre, Sjoerd Ebberink explains: “It is all about how it can make your daily life easier within the context of things. The ideal scenario is to make the textile/clothing with some specs and sensors, giving software developers the opportunity to program and use it.” Using the base BB.suit, ByBorre was able to integrate ‘cold plasma tech’, an ionizing air filter, into the conductive textiles of the BB.suit presented at Beijing Design Week. The tech filters polluted air through the suit to create a clean air space in the vicinity of the wearer. To demonstrate their tech, ByBorre used a novel technique: “Next to the BB.suit there were two apples, one with the cold plasma tech and one without. The apple without the tech ended up with a lot of moisture and was darkened. For the audience to see the possibility of having a solution in your clothing was eye opening,” says Ebberink. However, the BB.suit has humbler beginnings than the environment-transforming properties of its Beijing edition imply. Starting as a material development consultancy and research project for the technical university of Eindhoven and CRISP, the team developed a conductive yarn that could be used with their signature 3D knit. Their thickly-knit designs allow more complex integration of technol-
ogy than just pockets with sensors in them, allowing the tech to be embedded through the entirety of their designs. Ebbernick elaborates: “As we mainly design textiles, we do not believe wearables are achieved just by sticking a sensor on clothing, we wanted to be involved in the process and investigated the use of conductive yarn in the knitting process.” The research team took their creation, the BB.suit, to SXSW in 2014: “Using the DNA of the festival, the BB.suit 0.1, a music platform, was born.” The first generation of the suit integrated GPS and WiFi into the suit, allowing attendees at the festival to track the wearer of the suit, access their mobile WiFi hotspot and access and add to a playlist that accompanied the WiFi access point. Rather than a tech breakthrough for the label, the BB.suit 0.1 was ByBorre’s conversation starter, introducing people to a possible future for wearable technology: “the BB.suit 0.1 was nothing special…but the combination of things made it work. The way we used it gave a hint of what it could be.” The flexibility and adaptability of the BB.suit represents a mindset ByBorre hopes to inspire across both the fashion and tech industries.
ByBorre founder, Borre Akkersdijk
As opposed to looking at the suit as a product, the team views the suit as a conversation starter, getting people excited about the possibilities of technology integrated clothing: “It is a onesie, an oversized jumpsuit. It was not meant to be in your wardrobe but it needed to be a conversation starter. What do we want it to be? How should it look? And what do you want it to be able to do?”
ested and believe in what we do. As we do not position ourselves as one or the other, we are a bit of a stranger in both worlds.”
Ebbernik believes this is central to fostering innovation: “The BB.suit is a research project, a proven concept but not with the interest of bringing it to the market, a way to have the topic rolling and to use in our conversations with partners. You need to collaborate and share in this tech world…[Collaboration] should strengthen both parties and be an opportunity to learn from each other.”
“We want the value perception of clothing back,” says Ebbernik of ByBorre’s broader ambitions. “It is a mindset, a perception that needs to change. You can address it, but the issues are so multi-layered. As a consumer we need an easy and if possible, cheap alternative. Why would we otherwise change our habits, our comfort?
The change Ebbernik and his colleagues envision for the future of wearables is only possible through such collaborations. “We should be doing what we are good at and collaborate with people who are good at the things that are needed for different projects,” Ebbernik continues. “People from both industries [tech and fashion] show they’re inter-
Strangers though they may be, with space age designs more suited to scifi epics than everyday wear, ByBorre could be the catalyst for change both industries need as well.
“Smart tech could be an opportunity to change this. If clothing could make your life easier because of extra functions the need for consumption could decrease, resulting in more service-minded products.”
BB.Suit, detail
It was not meant to be in your wardrobe but it needed to be a conversation starter. What do we want it to be? How should it look? And what do you want it to be able to do?
Fashioning The Future Giulia Tostamello, BioConductive Skin
Biomaterials and e-textiles at the fringes of fashion When we think of technological innovation, we tend to think in terms of circuits and microchips and the unimaginable, seemingly imaginary ‘cloud’. The reality of some of the more interesting fields of innovation, however, involves far simpler components: bathtubs, tea, vinegar and yeast. Giulia Tostamello, an MA student on Central Saint Martins’ material futures course, envisions a future in which our interactions with technology are more human. Taking inspiration from designers like Suzanne Lee who work with biomaterials grown from yeast cultures, Giulia is taking the fabrication of material a step further by introducing conductive elements into the biomaterials she grows. Giulia’s ‘bioconductive skin’ is the by-product of the fermentation process of some common household items: vinegar, tea and cellulose, which together grow a leathery material, a living organism that you care for, feed and grow. While designers like Suzanne Lee typically ‘kill’ the material at this stage of the process, Giulia has another idea: “I’m hacking the process. Mixing the material with powders, fibres and inks to really make it conductive.” Giulia’s musings on this pioneering synthesis of biology and technology in the airy, brutalist atrium of Central Saint Martins’ campus in King’s Cross seem natural, commonplace even. With Giulia’s rich history in
product design and interactivity, it’s no surprise she’s comfortable in this realm of imagining blended with practicality. “My background is in product design, studying in Italy. After that I did a one year master’s programme at the design academy in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, I went on to a masters in social design and now I’ve moved to material futures.” Giulia began her journey towards more biocompatible technology with a corset that responded to the movements of the user’s diaphragm, allowing users to understand if they were breathing correctly; a kind of technology-enabled therapy. Since her first forays into wearable technologies, Giulia’s ambitions have escalated, and now she’s hoping to change the way we think about wearing technology: “what I’m most interested in is the emotional connection with technology, which is missing every time.” By keeping the material alive, Giulia’s bioconductive skin “will be something that will still be on or embedded in your body, but in a more biocompatible way. So instead of engineering the skin, you humanise technology through another material.” While the relationship the individual has with material is vital to Giulia’s bioconductive skin, there’s another dimension of materiality Giulia is tapping into: sustainability.
Textile production and manufacturing is an expensive undertaking. While the monetary cost of contemporary textile production is relatively low, the environmental cost is rising steadily, with widely used synthetic fibres like nylon and polyester causing even greater damage. Synthetic fibres decompose slowly (if at all) and produce harmful toxins, polluting water and air in the process of their production. In producing one square metre of biomaterial, only 60 litres of water are used. Compare that with the 20,000 plus litres of water required to produce one t-shirt and a pair of jeans and the environmental advantages of biomaterials become staggeringly obvious. While hacking biology to create materials produces a fraction of the waste involved in manufacturing a traditional textile, the business of growing clothing is a slow one. The contemporary fashion industry is perhaps one of the most fast-paced and rapidly evolving on earth, in such a maelstrom of production and inconceivably short turn around times, from catwalk to high street, is there a place out there for slow-grown fashion? The quandary of sustainability is a pervasive one, permeating discourse across all facets of the fashion. In the growing field of e-textiles, such questions are placed at the forefront of the innovation process.
Responsible production and collaboration are at the heart of programmes like the e-textiles summer camp, which Giulia took part in in 2012. Held in Poncésur-le-Loir in France, the summer camp is a hub for collaboration, experimentation and innovation, seeking solutions to some of the most complex issues looming over the e-textiles industry. It was the idealist attitude of co-founder Mika Satomi that gave birth to the e-textiles summer camp in 2011. The camp helps Satomi deliver her vision for the future of fashion: “I hope the wearable technology meeting fashion slows down this fast fashion trend and eventually bring the joy of making back to the skilled seamstresses and crafts persons, including those skilled with electronics. One has to be a bit idealistic on this topic.“ Satomi believes it’s down to designers and creatives to change the dialogue not only for fashion, but for technology and sustainability as well: “If we stay with the same mindset as we have now, with our very unsustainable behavior, I do not think any tools or medium can change the way we interact. We will need much more discussion and critical discourse about how we want to interact with our environments and technology, and I think
DAY 31
designers and makers are able to start these conversations.” Satomi explains that the breadth of experience participants bring to the programme enables them to tackle etextiles and broader issues in the fashion industry with a more practical and informed lens: “the background of the participants varies from textile designers, fashion designers, media artists, material scientists, engineers and so on. Some of them are freelance designer and artists, some work in commercial companies and some are educators and researchers in academic institutes.” “I am an organizer, but also a participant. I organize it because I want to participate in it. Many of the participants come with a car full of equipment from their ateliers; some of them drive more than 24 hours to the camp. “With all this equipment, we manage to have a silkscreen printing lab, knitting machine lab, sewing lab, soldering stations, 3D printers and vinyl cutters where we can experiment with integrating all sorts of techniques. You can imagine what kind of integration is possible when all these tools and skills are sitting next to each other.”
KOMBUCHA + COPPER THREAD
DAY 01
Tostamello and Satomi are connected by more than just the etextiles summer camp, sharing a desire to change the very nature of the visual language of textiles. Tostamello’s bioconductive skin is, without question, a visionary project, but its aesthetic has left her critics questioning its practicality: “I got some critics [asking], ‘Why do we need another skin?’ ‘Why place it in your body?’” Tostamello explains. Her biomaterials have a fleshy look and a fleshy feel, accompanied by a scent that Tactile was told is not terribly pleasant. With the material being such a dramatic departure from traditional textiles, will anyone ever want to wear it? Satomi believes the answer to this question is a complicated one. Rather than ask where such materials might fit into the current market, Satomi speculates how innovations
and evolutions in textiles will completely upend it: “One of the things I recently talked with a colleague about is the development of an aesthetic language of etextiles and wearables. When you think of textile or fashion design, it has its own aesthetic language and references. The use of this language and these references creates a story, a bit like writing a poem. “The current [visual language of] wearables is like having an alphabet, but no words yet. Certainly we can combine the existing references from fashion to electronic appliances, and I think that is what currently happening, but it will be even more interesting when its own aesthetic language develops. Then I think it is really interesting to think about what wearables in the future will look like, and what they will do.”
How both e-textiles and biomaterials will continue to develop is anyone’s guess. Just two years ago when grown textiles found their way into the dialogue of material development, it seemed to operate on the fringes of speculative design: something that’s nice to think about, but utterly impractical. Now, the applications for biomaterials have extended from furniture upholstery to medical technology, challenging material knowledge and introducing new, sustainable methods of production. While the fashion and technology industries at large continue to operate within an aesthetic paradigm that has persisted into an era of technological innovation that has outpaced it, visionaries like Tostamello and Satomi could be fashioning the future of design.
FASHION THERAPY the wearable devices breaching the healthcare sector Retail therapy is one of the most commonplace cures for stress and sadness. The power of a purchase can be transformative for some but fashion and healthcare aren’t otherwise thought of as industries that intersect often. Wearable devices like the Fitbit, Apple watch and Jawbone promise health and fitness tracking, keeping record of simple data sets that are informative and habit forming, but these are not usually considered genuine medical devices. Changes are afoot in the fashion industry, however, pushing the boundaries of wearables further into the medical sector and towards functional fashions that double as therapeutic devices.
Sensoria is one such company looking to launch wearables to the next level. Sharlene Sternberg, marketing manager for Sensoria, explains: “One of the key areas transforming the wearables sector is healthcare. Overall, health insurers are well placed to take advantage of the potentially large benefits from the increasing use of wearable technology among their customers. “ The possibility for expensive wearable device to be subsidised by health insurers and national health services could be a boon for wearable technology. The trouble is proving the technology has genuine healthcare benefits – something Sensoria is keen to do.
Sensoria’s smart socks fall squarely within the wearable technology sector, collecting data on daily activities, but the end goal is a bit more complex: “[the smart sock] helps its wearers track their daily activity including steps, cadence and distance during rehabilitation after a stroke or post-surgery – with the ultimate goal of speeding up overall recovery time,” says Sternberg.
However, devices like their Smart Moore Balance Brace, developed in collaboration with Orthotics Holdings, Inc., collect data that is delivered both to the user and their clinician: “the foot and ankle support was designed to help reduce the risk of falls in the elderly by improving balance
–and stability for its wearers, and is now getting a smart update to help clinicians monitor their patients’ adherence, activity levels and gait parameters,” says Sternberg. While the bulk of wearables on the market right now cater to individual users’ needs, devices such as these breach the medical technology sector, merging fashion, technology and healthcare in one fell swoop. Sternberg explains that this kind of innovation presents “an opportunity to work with sports therapists and physical therapists in the creation of therapeutic devices.” With a bevy of athletics and sportsrelated wearable devices both on the market and in development, it would seem wearables are best situated to tackle issues of physical health. Some labels, however, are looking to make fashion an integral part of our emotional and mental health as well. Kristin Neidlinger, founder of Sensoree, has created a range of devices to mitigate the effects of Sensory Processing Disorders, which include such diagnoses as ADHD and autism.
Sensoria sensor
“We work with bio sensors like EEG [brainwave monitoring], EKG [heart rate], GSR [excitement], flexible movement sensors and IR/ proximity sensors to monitor corporeal states,” says Neidlinger, “Sensoree’s therapeutic biomedia converts this data and enhances the body’s language with new expressions like light and tactile displays.” Neidlinger has coined this new form of communication “extimacy”: external intimacy. For individuals who have trouble communicating or recognising emotions, this direct and visual form of extimacy could be an invaluable tool in helping them communicate and empathise with others. Neidlinger has more recently developed a 3D printed and woven headpiece called Neurotiq, which doubles as an EEG sensor, showing changes in brain states using colour. Neidlinger hopes her designs, enabled by technology, can introduce new functions for both fashion and technology: enhancing our communication through the medium of fashion.
“Currently, fashion is primarily a [form of] self expression on the exterior body. Technology introduces new possibilities of accessing the interior states and animating fabric. Opportunities are biofeedback for the self, extensions of personality and even remote touch or communication between people,” muses Neidlinger on fashion’s future. Neidlinger believes this power is something unique to the fusion of fashion and technology: “technology enhances awareness and offers new forms of communication. It can be a training tool to help repattern anything from movement to the intuitive sense: sensory feedback can help motivate and create new behaviors.” Harnessing the power fashion and technology together have to enhance the human experience, both on a physical and emotional level, is a purpose Sensoria and Sensoree share. Both have a sense of this fusion as an extension of our bodies, minds and experiences; enabling behaviourial and therapeutic care through devices that work in tandem with our bodies rather than simply acting as supplements to our identities.
Sensoree, Neurotiq
It’s in the jeans Google works with established fashion players to realise the future of wearable technology
In May of 2015, Google announced it would be “These conductive fibers are then woven into a trying its hand at fashion with a collaborative initia- garment as a panel capable of sensing touch, just tive, Project Jacquard. like a touch screen. Electrical connectors can then be hooked up to miniature circuits as small as a The project aims to revolutionise the wearables button¬ and touch registered on the fabric can be industry by consolidating our need for rich interac- signaled wirelessly to a computing device, like a tions with our technologies and the shrinking sizes phone or tablet” of those devices. While touch screens made our relationship with technology more tactile, Google A year on, Google is set to announce the developmay bring that tactile relationship to our clothing ment of the project with their collaborative partas well by weaving technology into “textiles using ner, Levi Strauss, in May of 2016. The two are exstandard manufacturing processes that extends pected to release a line of clothing with Jacquard interactivity to garments,” Google explained in a technology woven in within the year. press release from May 2015. The technology is not dissimilar to other attempts Project Jacquard sits within Google’s Advanced to create haptic textiles that allow users to interact Technology & Projects (ATAP) group, a branch of with devices connected remotely to their clothGoogle that is working on the fringes of techno- ing using gestures and buttons integrated into the logical innovation. clothing. The press release explains: “ATAP designed a new type of conductive yarn that can be woven into textiles on the same looms that are used to make traditional fabrics.
The real innovation here, compared to typical methods of integrating conductive fibres into clothing, is that “Jacquard can be produced at scale using traditional weaving technologies.
“What you’re wearing won’t be called a wearable, it’ll just be a jacket.”
This means that Jacquard uses the same looms, Google set out to prove this when it launched without any modification, to create woven textiles the project last year, demonstrating how easy the capable of interactivity,” says Google. technology is to integrate by collaborating with one of the fashion industry’s more resilient characWith such technology in the hands of mass man- ters to change: Savile Row. ufacturers like Levi Strauss, the fashion industry could finally see the widespread adoption of wear- Nick Hammond, an independent cutter based ables by the public at large. at 16 Savile Row and his colleague Rachel Alice Smith were asked to demonstrate how the tech Steve Vranakis, creative director at Google Cre- can be integrated into even the most traditional ative labs, believes this could change the very na- manufacturing processes: “they wanted to show ture of wearables, representing “a new dimension how easily it can be used by any company, whethof usability for fashion. Your jacket could become er using machinery or by hand. They [also] wanted the new touch point between you and the digi- the contrast of history and tradition to emphasise tal world…What you’re wearing won’t be called a the innovation and tech they are synonymous for,” wearable, it’ll just be a jacket.” says Hammond. However, the project could face the very same challenges that have led to disappointing sales of wearables like the Apple Watch. What will determine the success of the product will be its simplicity, its invisibility and its ease of adoption.
Hammond explained that the process was quite simple: “for my part in the project I just had to make sure I cut the sleeve in the correct section of cloth so that the interactive threads were in the right place.”
With technology that can be integrated so simply, Google could revolutionise more than just the wearables sector, opening up the entire fashion industry to tech integration. However, just because it’s simple, doesn’t mean it’s going to be used. Hammond believes this is most evident in Savile Row, the very venue Google chose to depict the potential their tech has to saturate every facet of fashion: “Savile Row has stuck to its guns for nearly 200 years. We all like to see what the future holds but Savile Row is very proud of its long history. We will no doubt advise brands on how to incorporate [the technology] into their tailoring but it’s not something I can see on the Row any time soon.” With Savile Row appointing its first ever female master tailor just this year, it’s easy to see why Hammond thinks this might be the case. Despite the resilience of Savile Row, Hammond is still enchanted by Google’s vision: “It’s certainly feasible and achievable if a company is looking to be innovators…I would love to use it as a consumer but not as a tailor.” With the biggest name in tech and one of the most well-known and well-respected brands in fashion working together, the effort is sure to set the tone for the future of wearable of wearable technology.
Professor Helen Storey:
Pioneering interdisciplinary practice In 2008, the London College of Fashion established the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), a coalition of professors, designers and brands dedicated to exploring the ways in which the industry can evolve and thrive more sustainably.
“I was first drawn to, what is now called up cycling and sustainable practice back in 1990, when I set up a clothing initiative through my fashion brand and shops we had at the time, called 2nd Life,” says Storey.
Central to fulfilling their mission would be merging the fields of fashion and science, discovering and exploring new methods of manufacturing, innovative textiles and ways to challenge consumer behaviour to catalyse industry-wide change. At the helm of the CSF’s integrated approach is Professor Helen Storey, whose work in interdisciplinary fashion practices dates back to the 1990’s.
Storey’s 2nd Life collection, made entirely from recycled clothing set a precedent of innovation for her career – one she has risen to throughout her work in fashion. Following her knack for working ahead of the status quo, Storey was one of the first designers to use science to genuinely inform her design practices: “The opportunity to work with the world of
science came via my developmental biologist sis- solving harmful pollutants. ter Kate, who was at Oxford University at the time (1996). The project challenges the usual approach to sustainability and environmentally conscious design “A Wellcome Trust initiative called Sci/Art awarded and manufacturing processes by bypassing the us the first prize for a collection of clothes that elu- fashion industry at large, seeking to change postcidated my sister’s field of research, the first 1,000 consumption behaviours rather than fashion itself: hours of human life, entitled Primitive Streak… Combining these two approaches led me to what “its a laundry additive which you add to your oris now recognized as the interdisciplinary fashion dinary wash of the clothes you already own, so in & science approach.” that way it’s a project about getting it to market through the big laundry manufactures. “ Primitive Streak exhibits the life cycle of humanity, from feritlisation to the actualisation of the human As with most innovation, the project still has a few form, effectively translating the complex concepts kinks to work out: “Two challenges have arisen and realities of human development in a commu- in recent and further work to scale it to market nicative art form: fashion. and these are proving difficult. One: the catalyst also knocks out scent … it doesn’t distinguish beIn 2011, Storey, in collaboration with chemist Tony tween scent and pollution [making it] a threat to Ryan developed Catalytic Clothing, a project that all existing Western laundry products and the perwas not only informed and inspired by science, fume industry; and two: the technology benefits but fully integrated with it. The clothing for the others a few seconds before it benefits you, so project was infused with a photocatalyst that uses the marketing message around altruism is hard for light to purify the air around the garment by dis- this species it seems!”
the shifts we need to make now go beyond the material and into the heart of our conscious behaviors Difficult as it may be to alter the behaviours of consumers of fashion and technology alike, Storey believes this is central to creating a culture of sustainability for both industries: “I think the shifts we need to make now go beyond the material and into the heart of our conscious behaviors about what we buy, when and how often. We are the ones that do the damage.”
each other to collaborate, over the differences in the disciplines themselves. “Sharing the same motivation to work together as individuals is what underpins successful collaboration across the two.”
Science and Fashion both face a sustainability crisis, putting environmental concerns at the forefront The kinds of challenges Storey has consistently of research and development practices in both inbrought to light demonstrate the power science dustries. While Storey triumphs in demonstrating and fashion together have to solve and question the capacity collaborations between science and the issues of our time, and illustrate why they fashion have to advance sustainable behaviours, make such good bedfellows: “The restriction to the widespread adoption of her interdisciplinary these two industries working together more is practices is yet to be seen. often more about the right human beings finding
EDITORIAL
Throughout the process of creating the first issue of Tactile, interviewing creatives, designers, scientists, professors and everything in between, the future of fashion became less ethereal, less a blend of concepts and hypotheses and far more present. Visions of the denizens of earth decked out in space suits and Jetsons-esque geometric constructions began to seem absurd in the face of how dramatically the fashion industry is set to change thanks to those working at the edges of innovation. Not only will these changes reshape our relationships with fashion itself, but they will change the way we interact with ourselves (mind and body), one another and even our planet. Several dominant themes cropped up time and time again in each interview and each conversation that went into creating Tactile; they hint at the very real futures of fashion and demonstrate the kinds of positive forces driving an industry with a toxic reputation towards a brighter, more responsible future. From the insight of those I interviewed in this first issue, I’ve developed three predictions for the future of fashion.
Crafted Technology
Fashion will be helmed by skilled craftspeople and makers The merging of fashion, science and technology has brought to light a prospect that could fundamentally alter the fashion industry. The rate at which technology is currently advancing is outstripping the speed at which new aesthetics and tastes are developed; slotting new technology into old designs can only get the industry so far. Tactile found that the designers and creatives working at the meeting point of fashion and technology nearly all shared a similar raison d’etre: challenge and change the value-perception of clothing. Jessica Smarsch, textile designer explains: “The need is to be more conscious of what we make and why, to give meaning and purpose to things we create, and to put more emphasis on fashion as designed and cherished objects, not as cheap, throwaway goods.” Fast fashion dominates the current fashion paradigm, both in terms of aesthetic and product life-cycles. The obsolescent industry of the now may adopt a more circular model of production and consumption while slow fashion will helm the crafting of tech-integrated clothing.
Service-Minded Products
Trans-disciplinary fashion
While the creatives du jour like Phoebe Philo and Raf Simons steer the course for the behaviours of the fashion industry and the development of new product, in future, as is the case with many brands emerging at the intersection of fashion and technology, fashion will be more in tune with the end user rather than existing in endless permutations of a common source material.
Following the previous prediction, fashion will no longer be in the hands of the Diors and Celines of today; Instead, the aesthetic and functionality of our clothing will be driven by cross-disciplinary design and development.
Fashion will be whatever you need it to be
Modular devices like ByBorre’s BB.suit and the data driven designs of Iona Inglesby of Dot One and Jessica Smarsch’s texturised textiles are the primordial ancestors of the fashions of the future, developed in harmony with the individual rather than the masses. In the words of Iona Inglesby: “I think we will start to see more of an age of personalised function over form in fashion as it becomes more integrated with the tech world.” Iona Inglesby This shift to function over form heralds the inevitability of my final prediction for the fashion industry’s future.
Fashion will be a product of multiple industries
As science, technology and fashion continue to merge, the demands of each industry will deliver a new aesthetic language through products that act as multifunctional devices; much like how smart phones have synthesised the functionality of our computer, phone and camera within the confines of one device. Medical technology will be embedded in our clothing and accessories, connected devices will be controlled by gestures on our jacket’s sleeves and elements of our environments will be altered by the fabric of our t-shirts.
FASHION’S FUTURES
These predictions, while informed by the realities of the industry, are the humble musings of a guy who makes a living spewing words from mind to keyboard to computer screen; detatched and ultimately removed from the more intimate details of the cogs and gears pushing and pulling designers, creatives and innovators into and away from the futures of fashion. Instead of ending the first issue of tactile on a note of airy optimism from the mind of a writer, instead I leave you with the musings of Professor Helen Storey from the London College of Fashion, who pioneered an interdisciplinary approach to fashion design and manufacturing informed by and in collaboration with scientists: “The two disciplines [fashion and science] bring together the power of what science and the humanizing of it can achieve. Fashion is ubiquitous, every one to some extent, takes some care about how they appear visually to the world, that’s where its power lies. It’s reach, it’s vested interest, so we have to make sure the technologies we enable it with are also of value and of use to us emotionally and practically, it’s a win win and touches our hearts and minds simultaneously.” Ryan Lee Vincent Editor and founder, Tactile
THE FU IS TACTILE
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