Fashion at the Intersection of Sensor Technology, Neuroscience and Healthcare

Fashion at the Intersection of Sensor Technology, Neuroscience and Healthcare

With the excitement of fashion month in the rearview mirror, there was one Web3 stand-out moment at Paris Fashion Week 2023, when, after a 4-year absence,?Peter Dundas?presented a fun “See Now, Wear Now” augmented reality and virtual try-on show in partnership with digital metacloset, DRESSX. The rest of this past fashion month (NYFW, LFW, MFW) seemed very much in a traditional IRL runway show setting, showcasing the beautiful art of dress-making and design.

The most iconic moment for me and many fashionistas alike, took place at last September’s Paris Fashion Week (PFW22), when at the close ofCoperni‘s?link?Spring 2023?show supermodel Bella Hadid walked onto an illuminated platform in a thong with her hands covering her chest?video? , as she stood there patiently on the freezing platform for her body to be spray-painted by Dr. Manel Torres, the founder of?Fabrican?link ?and the inventor of an unique liquid fabric. As Dr. Torres proceeded to spray the ?dress-in-a-can?, which almost immediately turned into a smooth, soft, elastic and non-woven fabric, displaying a 3D look and, in front of our eye, offered a magical bridge from the physical world to the??Metaverse. The dress can be hung, washed, or sustainably put back into the bottle to be prayed on again when desired.

While not previously known on a global stage,?Fabrican‘s?CoperniPFW2022?entrance, made headlines around the world and has captured the attention of a multitude of industries starting with fashion, beauty, manufacturing, automobile, sports and healthcare (currently used for bandages). As one of?Fabrican ?‘s main missions is to cut garment waste, this ??dress in a can?? makes total sense from a sustainability point of view. Not only is it washable and reusable, the material itself can be transformed into a brand-new spray-on fabric. As?Fabrican’s?performance at PFW22 has drawn major attention to the re-usable and sustainable nature of this spray-on textile, fashion houses are paying more attention to sustainability, functionality and sensor technology in garments. In this article I will mainly discuss smart textiles and sensor technology. While there are many soft robotic prosthesis models with sensor technology for the benefit of amputees to assist with improved mobility (also used in adaptive clothing), I will merely address a few developments in smart clothing in healthcare, sports and outdoor survival gear.

I.????Functional Clothing: Protective, Medical, Adaptive and Sports Clothing

1.??Wearable Sensor Technology for protection, health and safety

One of the leading scientific research institutions in the world, the?Wyss?at?Harvard University, has designed some of the most sophisticated sensor textile technology for healthcare, business, and manufacturing, by harnessing synthetic biology to detect the wearer’s exposure to toxins and pathogens. Watch the following video about this amazing scientific accomplishment:?Clothing That Can Detect Pathogens and Toxins

Furthermore, due to the recent pandemic, the?Wyss?Institutedeveloped wearable biosensors for face masks to enable accurate detection and diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 and many other pathogens and toxins.

2.??From Smart Polo Shirts to Adaptive Clothing

Way back in 2014,?Ralph Lauren?developed a “smart shirt” embedded with sensors to monitor vital signs for heart rate, respiration, and movement to help “improve general wellness and increase personal fitness,” thus blending health technology with fashion technology.?Ralph Lauren Smart Polo Shirt

Furthermore, mainstream fashion brands are starting to embrace adaptive designs for a more diverse, inclusive and equality-oriented customer base. In 2016,?Tommy?Hilfiger, as a trailblazer in fashion technology in general, was one of the first fashion designers to create an adaptive fashion line at the convergence of healthcare and fashion clothing. Such adaptive clothing designs may also be equipped with sensor technology. Learn more:?Tommy Hilfiger ramps up adaptive fashion. Who is next?

So far, I have given just a few examples of mainstream fashion brands using sensor technology in their clothing and one example of adaptive clothing. However, from color-changing textile controlled by a mobile phone app to sensor technology for health and fitness, connectivity provided by smart textiles is seriously gaining on popularity in the fashion industry. For a more overall fulfilling customer experience, even luxury fashion brands are starting to invest in this space. Learn more about smart clothing for top performance and health via?link

II.???Future Proofing Clothing

Every year, the concern about climate change is becoming more prevalent, as the impact of severe storms, floods, droughts, earthquakes and fires is negatively affecting economies worldwide. The availability of strong, resilient clothing to withstand these extreme weather conditions, is a must for the fashion industry. One of my favorite outdoor clothing designers taking “future proofing” to another level, is?Vollebak. This designer works with the most advanced materials in the world and even designs suits for extreme conditions experienced in space. Check out their “Ceramic T-Shirt” made from 100,000 ceramic particles:?World’s toughest T-shirt ??

III. Closing thoughts

Advanced smart phone technology, the need for fast connectivity (5G/6G), a democratized access to the Internet, Web3 technologies (and the impending Metaverse) on a global scale, all require the fashion industry to keep pace with a fast-moving digital transformation process.

With major advancements in artificial intelligence, and improved easy use of low-code software, ChatGPT, DallE, and other generative artificial intelligence, the fashion industry is converging with technology rapidly, as digital fashion designs are complimenting traditional ones, with the aim to better cater to its customer base and to be able to provide continuously enhanced blended experiences.

Eveline Ruehlin 3-08-2023

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Photo credits: titanui