Recently I was watching a documentary about advances in nanotechnology
and the development of new materials capable of being as thin as paper, as
lightweight as a cotton shirt but as strong as chainmail. As I don’t know that
much about scientific/technological developments I decided to look into this
and as with all research one thing led to another and I quickly became
fascinated with the advances made in
nanotechnology and how it might have positive/negative implications on the
future of fashion.
It is no secret that we are living in a digital age. Gone are the
days of OS maps, typewriters and video cassettes, the current generation has
grown up with sat nav/google map apps, ipads and blu-ray dvds. As more and more
scientific/technological developments are made our dependency on them has increased. Until recently these developments have been limited to
electronic devices but they are now seeping into the textiles industry too.
Digital technology for textiles is becoming increasingly
important. This year marks the first International Conference for Digital
Technologies for the Textile industries at the University of Manchester(5th-6th
September 2013). Countries attending this conference include: Russia, China,
USA, UK, Canada, France, Belgium, India and Germany, this shows just how great
the interest is in digital textile development!
“a sheet of it stretched
over a coffee cup could support the weight of
a truck bearing down on a pencil point.”(globalresearch.ca)
Graphene is
more electrically conductive than copper and at only one atom thick is also
transparent. Scientists at the University of Texas, have used Graphene's electrically conductive properties to create an invisibility cloak to rival
that used by Harry Potter. By heating up the Graphene atoms with electrical
stimulation, the material becomes invisible.
Although Graphene is
an amazing discovery its usage is limited as China currently owns 70% of the
worlds graphite supply and graphite is the main component in creating Graphene.
The implications of China controlling the worlds graphite is that it can limit
the ability for other countries to experiment and develop this new material.
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| Hyperstealth's Quantum Stealth material in action. |
Digital textile technology hit the news recently with the Hyperstealth Biotechnology Corps’ 'Quantum stealth' invisible camouflage
material which bends light waves around the wearer so that they appear to be
invisible. Backed by the US military this incredible material completely blurs
the lines between science fiction and reality.
Although Mr
Cramer, CEO of Hyperstealth, has been unable to disclose how the technology
works/how it is made(could it be Graphene?), he has provided some speculation
on how it might be used in the military to create invisible stealth aircraft
and submarines which are unable to be picked up by enemy radar. The
implications of this technology if a war were to break out(fairly likely in our
current political climate) are huge. The US, however, isn't the only country
developing invisible technology- Israel is also said to be arming it's military
with invisible missiles and we can safely guess that both Russia and China have
some form of invisible technology up their sleeves(they're just far more
discreet about it than the US!). I'm not a very political person but even I can
speculate that this sounds all too similar to an arms race...and anyone who has
studied World War history will know that one of the main triggers of WWI was an
arms race between Britain and Germany...could we be seeing a repeat of History
but on a more global scale?
The majority of
digital textile developments focus on how they might be used in a military
context, but nanotechnology is also being developed so that it can be used in
everyday fashion. The presence of digital technology in fashion seemed to begin
with Hussein Chalayan’s transformation collection in 2007, where we saw his
collection of garments change in front of our eyes, leaving one of the models
completely naked on the stage as her clothing retracted into a large hat. This
catwalk was groundbreaking for fashion as Chalayan demonstrated that digital
technology could be used without having to compromise on the appearance of the
garments.
On a more functional level, the usage of nanotechnology in
textiles is also having positive implications in the medical world.
NanoHorizons creation of SmartSilver has worked it’s way into hospital bedding.
Silver has natural antimicrobial properties and SmartSilver embraces these
properties and doesn’t wash out/wear off the fabric. SmartSilver is also
perfect for reducing odour in clothing as it resists the bacteria which creates
odour, because of this SmarSilver is perfect for usage in sportswear as well as
everyday clothing.
From odour reducing/bacteria killing fabric to material with
a view to combating malaria. Cornell University’s Textile nanotechnology
laboratory in NYC has been working on anti-malaria wearable mosquito nets
capable of storing and releasing insecticides to target mosquitos. With around 1.2 million people a year dying from Malaria, this could combat tone of the worlds deadliest diseases.
Scientists at the University of Bolton’s Institute for
Materials Research and Innovation(IMRI) have been working with GK
opto-electronics Co. Ltd. in China to develop photovoltaic-piezoelectric
material. For those of us who are not scientific researchers, this could lead to the development of materials/clothing that can absorb the wearers
movement and turn kinetic energy into electricity, so that clothing could power
electronic devices. The scientists are also carrying out research to develop this
material so that it can absorb energy from the weather(predominantly solar and wind energy). This development is quite fascinating and especially useful for anyone
who owns an i-phone which has a ridiculously short battery life, imagine how
useful it would be if you could go for a jog and simultaneously charge your
ipod/smart phone.
A similar piezo-electric material has been used by designer
Diana Eng, who used LED’s, microphones and conductive silver thread to create
piezo-electric dresses which convert sound into light. The patterns on the
dresses light up in response to sound waves/the beat of the music. The current
prototype is unable to be washed, but if this idea is developed further our
nightclubs may soon be filled with light up clothing that flashes to the beat
of the music.
Diana Eng is not the only designer to experiment with using
light in fashion, Cute circuit are a London based design label launched in 2004
who use LED technology in their designs. The LED dresses are controlled by an
iphone app and have been worn by celebrities like Katy Perry and Nicole Scherzinger.
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| Cute Circuit dresses. |
Ying Gao is another designer who has used advanced digital
technology in fashion but in a very unique way. Gao has created a collection of
dresses which use complex sensory technology which responds to people’s gaze.
Each dress weighs around ½ pound and is made from the world’s lightest fabric,
super organza, photoluminscent thread and eye tracking electronic devices,
these dresses are programmed to light up and move when looked at creating
beautiful and ethereal garments reminscient of jellyfish and deep sea creatures.
Advanced digital technology has not only been used in the
creation of fashion forward garments, but also on the presentation of new
catwalk collections. In 2011 Burberry used digital technology to present their
collection in Beijing. Their catwalk consisted of holographic models dressed in
the new collection colliding with each other and disappearing into smoke on the
runway(see video below).
Although these technological developments are extremely
useful, particularly for military purposes, what happens if there is a global
break down in technology/electricity, unlikely I know, but these things have to
be taken into consideration!
Suzanne Lee, Senior research at Central St.
Martin’s school of fashion and textiles, has been collaborating with biologists
and scientific researchers at her studio in London to develop a way of growing
clothing from bacteria. Using a bathtub filled with a combination of green tea,
yeast and a sugar solution, she creates her own fabric by letting the
ingredients ferment. This fermenting process spins cellulose fibres which stick
together and form a skin on top of the liquid. The material can then be dried
on a mould, creating a seamless, stitch free garments.
Natural dyes from blueberries/beetroots etc can then be used
to dye the fabric to make it more aesthetically appealing et voila-
biodegradable home grown clothing which can be disposed of without having any
negative implications on the environment. These creations are currently in the
prototype stage but the scope for development in this area is huge.
With the world becoming increasingly digital, it won’t be
long before fashion is also completely digitized In this article I have tried
to show some of the many digital textile developments which are currently being
explored. Who knows, in the future we may all be wearing invisible clothing,
dresses that change their print dependent on our mood or, if the digital world
breaks down we may all be sporting Suzanne Lee’s homegrown bio-leather. Either
way the future of fashion looks extremely interesting!
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