Catalytic Clothing, a collaboration between the London College of Fashion, University of Sheffield, and the University of Ulster, has recently presented the first prototype of a dress that can purportedly absorb airborne pollutants. A thin layer of space-age, pollution-absorbing concrete mixture is sprayed onto the “Herself” dress. Wearing the dress automatically means that you are helping to save the environment, simply by walking around and being fashionable!

However, the “Herself” dress is highly experimental and is only inteded to illustrate – in artistic form – the idea that textiles can help eliminate certain pollutants from the air. Unfortunately, it is doubtful that an actual, wearable version of the dress will be made.

Check out the dress here!

If it is up to the scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas, you can soon charge your mobile phone by plugging it into your T-shirt!

The university is researching ways to weave energy-transmitting yarn into ready-to-wear material. So far, the scientists have discovered a way to create energy generating textiles from powder-infused carbon nanotubes. The nanotubes in use will be able to support superconducting particles, such as magnesium powder, with a more manageable form without binders or lasers. If the scientists are successful, this energy-transmitting yarn could be fashioned into lightweight batteries you can wear. This concept of wearable batteries that look like regular clothing would mean that you no longer have to search for a power outlet could and look fashionable at the same time!

Read more on Ecouterre and Inhabitat!

PSFK.com features an article in which a new hi-tech Pajama design is described. ome. The Exmobaby pajamas is developed by Exmovere Holdings, Inc. and are made to help avert sudden infant death syndrome: “the pajamas have sensors built into the fabric which monitor a babies’ heart beat, emotional state and behavior. The information is then relayed to parents, who can keep a virtual eye on their babies while they sleep.”

For more information, see: http://www.psfk.com/2010/09/parents-can-rest-easy-with-new-baby-pjs.html

In 2007 already, PSFK.com featured a video which demonstrates a intelligent textile product which is flexible and soft but on impact is instantly hard and retains energy from an impact, protecting the wearer. It is created by Brit company d30 Lab and you can read an extensive article about it here.

Watch the video and see how d30 Lab’s “superhero suit” works!

Just want to share a video that tells you everything you need to know about the Open Garments research project, where we are working on.

Last Friday, I went (togehter with my colleague Niels) to the Smart Textiles Salon in Gent (Belgium). It was a workshop, were different prototypes were presented. What I really liked was the fact that it was a collection of initiatives from various backgrounds: very technical ones but also projects with a background in the arts).

A project, I liked very much was the one of Berit Greinke, called “SHHH…, Amplifying textiles”. She recently graduated from MA Textile Futures Course at St. Martins and presented in fact an adaptation of her MA project. The main idea behind her work is that it makes a connection between textiles and sound: a connection which isn’t very obvious. She made a machine which reads the charateristics of fabric and makes them auditorily perceptible.