Wearable Tech Research: Biomimicry

What is Biomimicry:

To copy the functionality of nature to solve our man-made problems.

Examples:

Stefanie Nieuwenhuys

LAYERING SCRAPS LIKE SCALES After spying diamond-shaped wood chips on a workshop floor at London’s  Kingston University —the leftovers of some architecture student, no doubt— Stefanie Nieuwenhuys was reminded of a secondhand snakeskin bag she once purchased. Scooping them up, the fashion student set to work, layering the wooden scraps onto fabric like reptilian scales. To minimize waste, Stefanie Nieuwenhuys layered discarded pieces of wood onto fabric like reptilian scales. Nieuwenhuys’s “aha” moment resulted in her master’s project: a collection of corsets, floor-length evening dresses, trousers, and neckpieces that marries modern laser-cutting techniques with a couturier’s delicate yet exacting touch. Eschewing virgin resources, Nieuwenhuys worked with bio-waste firm  InCrops Enterprise Hub  in Norwich to obtain discarded pieces of plywood, which she honed into efficient forms that left behind little waste. Glued onto unbleached organic cotton, the brown-and-ecru “scales” become a “simulacra of nature, without discarding nature’s inherent harmonies".

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(pictures taken from: https://blogs.3ds.com/fashionlab/stefanie-nieuwenhuyse-recycle-le-bois-comme-des-ecailles-serie-biomimetisme/)

After spying diamond-shaped wood chips on a workshop floor at London’s Kingston University—the leftovers of some architecture student, no doubt—Stefanie Nieuwenhuys was reminded of a secondhand snakeskin bag she once purchased. Scooping them up, the fashion student set to work, layering the wooden scraps onto fabric like reptilian scales.

The artist makes use of scrap material to make her outfits. This project of hers emphasises the idea of reusing materials. Laser cutting the pieces to look like scales, and imitating the layering to look like that of a snake.

 

Diana Eng

COMPACT STRUCTURES THAT UNFURL LIKE LEAVES Diana Eng based her  “Miura Ori” scarf  on an origami “leaf-fold” pattern invented by Koryo Miura, a Japanese space scientist who was in turn inspired by the unfurling mechanism of the hornbeam and beech leaves. Diana Eng’s scarf folds into a compact package yet “deploys” to create a voluminous wrap for your neck. Hornbeam and beech leaves are distinguished by their corrugated folds, which remain collapsed until they emerge from their buds.

Diana Eng based her “Miura Ori” scarf on an origami “leaf-fold” pattern invented by Koryo Miura, a Japanese space scientist who was in turn inspired by the unfurling mechanism of the hornbeam and beech leaves.

The origami patterns were made by observing nature, and the omission of right angles, like forehead wrinkles or the veins of a dragonfly’s wing. Because of that, the pattern is collapsible.

Monserrat Ciges

Created to imitate animals that are able to voluntarily self-transform.

 

References:

Simone Leonelli on the Blurred Boundaries Between Art & Fashion

The influence of 3D printing on fashion design

3D Printed Fashion: Novelty or reality?

How to become an Aussie eco-fashion designer

Fashion Biomimicry Through The Lenses Of Biotechnology, Nanotech And Artificial Intelligence

3D Haute Couture by Iris Van Herpen

http://www.osmosis-industries.com/digital/2015/4/21/nature-inspired-fashion-design-through-the-theory-of-biomimicry

Stefanie Nieuwenhuyse Reuses Scrap Wood as Scales – Biomimicry Series

Tessellation and Miura Folds

http://www.fairytalefashion.org/

https://class.textile-academy.org/2019/Montserrat/project.html?fbclid=IwAR2HGn6Jnj_R55DxHrH0XUJ-Kps8XhIIsjuXEe7a-0vZX_qN_RzgdFmpEQQ

 

Wearable Tech Research: X.Pose

Designed by Xuedi Chen and Pedro G. C. Oliveira
Photographed By: Roy Rochlin
Model: Heidi Lee
Makeup: Rashad Taylor

Concept:

The outfit reflect the amount of data you generate when using the internet. Based on the amount of data generated, it will make parts of the outfit more transparent then the others. It creates a commentary of how transparent one is on the internet despite having things like privacy settings. On Xuedi’s website they states,

By participating in this hyper-connected society while having little to no control of my digital data production, how much of myself do I unknowingly reveal? To what degree does the aggregated metadata collected from me paint an accurate portrait of who I am as a person? What aspects of my individuality are reflected in this portrait?

The work broadcasts the artists’ concern on the wearer, exposing the wearer literally to the public view as contrast to the exposed data we have online.

Process:

  • Creation of app to connect to the outfit
    • The app is used to collect the data generated from their phone at each time at every location. The data generated is sent via Bluetooth from their phone to a Bluetooth Arduino in the outfit.

schem001.jpg

(photo taken from: https://www.pedro.work/#/xpose/)

  • Creation of Flexible mesh armature
    • Designed geometrically to reflect areas that the artists visit often. (like Soho, NYU, Union square.
  • Opacity of the dress
    • Depending on the amount of data generated, the outfit would change opacity accordingly.

Materials:

According to the artists’ website, the material used for the armature of the outfit is a flexible 3D printed mesh

schem002.jpg

(photo taken from: https://www.pedro.work/#/xpose/)

Subsequently, they also mentioned that the opacity changing material is made from electrochromic film, also the materials used to make smart windows.

Photo: Electrochromic glass wired to electric contacts and appearing transparent (clear).Photo: Electrochromic glass wired to electric contacts and appearing opaque (dark).

(Photos taken from: https://www.explainthatstuff.com/electrochromic-windows.html)

Image result for smart windows lrt

(similar to the material that is used for our LRT windows)

Electrochromic films use technology similar to an LCD display, which uses liquid crystals, under precise electronic control, to change how much light can get through. When the current is switched on, the crystals line up like opening blinds, allowing light to stream straight through; switched off, the crystals orient themselves randomly, scattering any light passing through in random directions, so making the material turn opaque.

How electrochromic smart film works: Animated GIF artwork showing how liquid crystals align to let light pass through

(Photo taken from: https://www.explainthatstuff.com/electrochromic-windows.html)

 

References:

  • http://xc-xd.com/x-pose
  • https://3dprint.com/5802/x-pose-3d-printed-dress/
  • https://www.explainthatstuff.com/electrochromic-windows.html
  • https://www.pedro.work/#/xpose/