Technology of Fashion
This article marks the seventh in Urban Times’ EcoFashion Series. We hope to shed some light on the eco fashion industry by exploring elements such as the sustainability, culture, ecology, psychology, labour and future of fashion. Our authors explore to what extent eco fashion is on the cusp of becoming the next big trend.
Previous episode: Legality of Fashion
If technology is the new sexy, then ‘smart’ fashion is the new black. Technology has been in a very serious relationship with our social and economic environment, and now they are going steady. Our tech devices drive our lives into high gear and influence our daily decisions and moods; it has become our support system, our friend even. I spend more time with my laptop on a regular basis then I do with any human being, sad I know, but true.
The marrying of fashion and technology is a phenomenon that has already taken place and is continuing to evolve at a rapid pace.
Have you ever left your house without your smartphone and felt awkwardly naked as you went on with your day? What if you could wear your smartphone instead? You’d wake up and throw on a totally stylish sweater that was embedded with all the information you needed, including GPS, heart monitor, infrared invisibility, and even sounds of a barking dog to keep suffocating crowds away from you as you ran to catch your train. This isn’t just a page out of a Sci-Fi novel, this is where fashion technology is actually hanging out and where it will continue to stay.
Jeremy Scott, London Fashion Week 2009. Source: livincool.com
The evolution of textiles and fibers spreads over thousands of years, beginning with the Flintstones chic era, aka, wearing the animal skin from the deer you just ate for dinner. Advancements in manufacturing practices in the last 40 years, including improved fabric technology and automated garment construction techniques, have changed the way clothes are made and produced. The Internet paved the way for start-up companies to sell their clothing on e-commerce websites, not only garnering more control on inventory but also allowing for more innovation. Start-up company Acustom was founded last year to make “bespoke” clothing that is tailored to customer measurements using 3D body scanning technology.
Globalization and outsourcing were once attached to the evils of sweatshops and waste accumulated by mass production, however public awareness and the power of social media have caused companies to now look for sustainability and safe eco-friendly practices.
Similar to the way cars have become less of a pollutant, with the maturity of engineering and the emergence of trendy solar hybrid cars with clean gas emissions, fashion practices are becoming more eco-friendly and supportive of the sustainability movement. At the forefront of this trend is DPOL (Direct Panel on Loom) technology, also called Smart Tailoring. Created by Indian designer Siddhartha Upadhyaya, this way of production increases fabric efficiency by about 15% and reduces the lead-time by about 50% to produce high quality fashion garments. The technology involves a computer attached to a loom in which different data like color, pattern and size related to the garment is entered. The machine weaves out the exact pieces, which just needs to be stitched up, for the person who would wear the garment. Practically “weaving, fabric-cutting and patterning” gets over in a single process. Not only does DPOL minimize immense waste of fabric, it also helps in saving energy and water [70%-80%]. It even reduces the amount of dyes and chemicals, harmful to the environment, used in the various steps involved. Siddhartha’s clothing line, August Fashions, is the pioneer in the DPOL movement, also utilizing natural dyes for the clothes and attainable price points.
It is common to assume that eco-friendly fashion is expensive and only for wealthy individuals who can jump on hipster fads no matter what the price tag. The truth is that like any technological advance, the start-up is bigger, more expensive and less attainable. Expenses from sustainable farming, manufacturing and distribution also come from the fact that they all need to be regulated. However, as we continue to advance in the genre the price points will lower as sustainable fashion take over.
Currently, scientists are developing textiles that do not harm people or the environment, with new polymer chemistry that doesn’t depend on non-renewable resources. Manufactured fibers, such as micro fibers, are now ahead of natural fibers in comfort, durability, and suitability to specific needs.
We can now engineer textiles with different specifications and performance characteristics. Smart fabrics describe materials that enhance the features of clothing and adapt to the external environment. Brookstone Inc., recently introduced a pair of cargo pants with heated carbon fabric panels in the seat and pockets that would work to keep you warm when trekking through cold winters. Companies like Wild Planet Toys Inc. offer smart fabric lines like Hoodio that allow you to dance your way to work with their radio jacket. Smart fashion has even inspired trade conferences such as “Smart Fabrics 2012”. Barbara Rojas, Conference Director, IntertechPira, said,
“The program for Smart Fabrics 2012 will cover new and emerging wearable technologies, as well as best practices for integrating them into textiles.”
BioDenim: Suzanne Lee's Kombucha Jacket. Source: http://www.biocouture.co.uk/
Smart fashion is eco-conscious in many ways including, utilizing renewable resources and manufactured fibers, creating new jobs in better work settings and producing clothing that last longer and performs better. The other side of the sustainability movement boasts designers who are looking outside of the box of manufactured fibers and smart technology and look to food products and recycled material as wearable commodities.
Suzanne Lee, fashion designer and TED fellow has been creating a kombucha-based material that can be used like fabric or vegetable leather to make clothing. German microbiology student turned designer Anke Domaske has been using milk to create a new fabric called QMilch. Californian high-tech sports apparel company Virus made their Stay Warm line of cold-weather clothing from recycled coffee beans. Virus says that their studies show that wearing this fabric next to the skin can raise surface temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. Other properties include quick-dry and moisture control.
The future of fashion technology is positive and bright, literately. The use of LED lighting in fashion has been both artistic and practical in usage. Pro snowboarder William Hughes wears a full body LED suit for amazingly grand video by filmmaker Jacob Sutton. Designer Angella Mackey has expanded her line of gorgeous illuminated coats to her Vega Collection. Moving beyond jackets, her line now includes smocks, capes, and even illuminated scarves to keep you fashionably safe on the roads.
The Stay Warm line made of recycled coffee beans. Source: http://media.tecca.com/2012/01/30/kmg-630-coffee-char-630w.jpg
The possibilities for further advancements are endless. The next decades will see the gradual meeting of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive technologies. Typical results will be materials with different malleability, thermal and optical properties, integration of IT into fabrics, and linkage of our bodies to the network for medical and communication purposes, via clothing or skin-wearables. If I could create my dream fashion design I would opt for a form fitting pliable outfit that smells like my perfume of choice, washes itself, contains embedded in its material my smartphone, laptop, itunes library, anti-aging vitamins and weight management device that keeps me slim and fit. The great, or some could say scary, thing is we actually aren’t far from this being a reality.
Innovation starts with a question, and continues to blossom with the passion of an idea obsessed leader. As a society we are living in a sonic boom of consciousness where we not only envision a better life for our future generations but we also demand and produce results. Technology is the backbone of sustainability in fashion and it will continue grow to support its development until one day it is simply the norm. Until then we can continue to fantasize about our very own Jetsonian wardrobes complete with all the fixings.
Interesting commentary on how technology trends influence eco-friendly/sustanability trends in fashion. Flinstones comment made me laugh.
Thank you both!!
Awesome article Nina. Well done.
Really, really interesting! Great reading. It’s like sci-fi, y’know. Wow
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