Fabric in the Future

With technology endlessly powering forward with new innovations, our clothing also has the potential to be more than just a form of protection and fashion.  On a small scale, this could be in the form of clothing that heats or cools in response to temperature changes (such fabrics are being researched by the University of Bath and London College of Fashion) engineered around systems found in nature.  In the longer term, nanotechnology within fabrics could allow built interiors to become smart objects, allowing a room to adjust its smell, colour, temperature, texture and sounds to suit its occupants moods.

Scientists and designers are researching clothing that has the capacity to monitor the body's respiratory system, heartbeat and temperature controls and respond to alter your health or mood.  Jenny Tillotson, a designer at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, has been developing a smart second skin, which has interactive fragrance technology permanently built into the clothing.  Examples include clothing and jewellery that release scents such as menthol, which could help alleviate medical problems including asthma attacks.

That's only the beginning, though.  Within the decade, we could see stores selling shirts that turn us into portable power stations.  Scientists are already looking to develop energy-scavenging fabrics, with nanotechnology built in, that uses the kinetic energy from the wearer's movements and converts it into electricity for powering electronic devices - a similar principle to the kinetic watches sold today.  Such systems would be potentially life-saving for hikers and soldiers, but in the wider market could power mobile phones, MP3 players and more.  Beyond this, scientists are examining how energy-scavenging fabrics could convert low-frequency vibrations into electricity, using nanowires entwined with the fabric's fibres to avoid affecting the look of the clothing.

Beyond the advantages for the consumer, science fashion could also help save the planet, or at the least provide solutions to some of the ecological and sustainability issues in today's society.  An interesting example of this is Suzanne Lee's "bio-couture" project, which is investigating the use of bacterial-cellulose, grown in a laboratory, to produce clothing: instead of using fibres from plants or animals, we could grow a dress in a vat of liquid.

This may all seem like a distant dream, but it is not so far away. Science has long affected the way we dress, from the gradually improvement of wool and cotton production to the introduction of artificial fibres. Aside from those kinetic watches, there have been fads for wearable technology (such as the iPod) or heat-sensitive fabric (remember Global Hypercolor T-shirts?). And with continual advances in nanotechnology, the possibilities are set to increase.

In fact, some of these textile innovations are appearing on the catwalk.  In 2008, Hussein Chalayan brought his exquisite LED dress to the catwalks of Toyko. This video dress displayed a time-lapsed image of a rose opening up and closing, with an array of colours and light, made possible by 15,000 LEDs embedded in the fabric.  Chalayan has also displayed clothes that change shape before the spectator's eyes: zippers closing, cloth bunching and hemlines rising without human assistance, thanks to the use of micro-controllers, switches and motors.

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