Citations for uwrt

Gaddis, Rebecca. “What is the Future of Fabric? These Smart Textiles Will Blow Your Mind.” Forbes.com. 7 May 2014. Web. 15 March 2016.

Rebecca Gaddis explores the development of smart textiles. In the article she defines smart textiles as “fabrics that have been developed with new technologies that provide added value to the wearer.” Smart textiles have the ability to perform tasks that traditional fabrics do not. Such textiles can do things including communicate with other devices, transform, conduct and measure energy, grow, and process information. There are two specific subcategories in which smart textiles fall; aesthetic and performance enhancing textiles. Example of aesthetic textiles include things such as fabrics that light up or change colors. Performance enhancing textiles are mostly used in athletic or sports related garments. They have the ability to do things such as regulate body temperature, control muscle vibration, and even provide resistance to extreme hazards. These types of technologies are also making a huge impact when merged with the medical industry with developments like fabrics that release medications into the body or have moisturizer or perfume built into the garments. Designers and companies from all over the world are beginning to develop products that include these technologies.

Like many of the other articles I have researched for this project, this article explores the new types of technologies that are being merged with the fashion industry. This article gives an in depth explanation of what these textile technologies are and explains how they are unique compared to traditional textiles and fabrics.

Grado Zero Espace - Italian company textile technologyYing gao – geneava, multimedia, sensory technology, interactive garmentsCuteCircuit – London based, smart clothing on runway, models controlled what their garments looked like through the use of their mobile phonesBiocouture – bio based fabrics and fibres (relates to the dupont company)

Gwilliam, AJ. “5 Sci-Fi Technologies Ready to Change Fashion.” Highsnobiety.com. 2015. Web. 7 March 2016.

AJ Gwilliam explores 5 new fashionable technologies that are being tried and tested. These technologies are 3D printed clothing and accessories, NFC interactive clothing, VR models, color changing fabrics, and self healing fabrics.

3D print technology is being used by many designers and companies around the world to create unique and stunning garments and products. Many of these products and designs allow for a large amount of personalization by the customer in terms of size and fit, materials, and overall look of a garment, like products from Electroloom that resemble cotton. Pringle, a Scotland

based designer has even developed a line of knitwear completely created with 3d printed technology.

NFC, or “near field communication”, interactive clothing will allow stores and companies to provide companies with promotions and advertising to customers who scan these chips with their smart phones. Advertiser hope to be able to develop the ability to pinpoint consumers in specific stores which would allow them to provide notifications and suggestions to shoppers. This type of technology has cause many to be concerned about their privacy and the technology’s evasiveness. NFC technology is also extremely inexpensive and readily available to consumers, with hundreds of millions of NFC capable smart phones consumed in 2014.

3D rendering software allows for designers to make changes to and refine their garments and products easily and quickly at a very low cost. Scientists have been working on combining 3D body scanners with motion-capture equipment, much like equipment used in the film industry, to create realistic recreations of the human body, called VR Models. This type of technology and resource allows for endless possibilities within the fashion industry. These models can be dressed and used as a computer-generated fashion model that allows designers as well as consumers to see and understand the way a garment may look on a person and how the garment may move when the wearer is in motion. Other developers are working to create even more realistic renderings of the human face. This combined with the technology of VR Models would allow fashion designers to showcase their designs virtually as well as three dimensionally, allowing consumers to view the garments from every angle as well as for designers to amass and even wider audience.

Color changing fabric, also known as “photochromatic technology”, also provides endless possibilities in the fashion industry. Photochromatic technology changes the way consumers dress and the way clothing reacts to different environments and settings. Some of these color changing technologies that are being developed to be embedded into fabrics and clothing include tiny crystals that react according to different wavelengths of light. Scientists are also working to develop a way to collect electricity for the human body’s movement in order to power “electronic fabric”. Using a current, this technology would be triggered to change color or light up in response to the wearer’s movements.

Scientists and researchers are working to create fabrics that include a special coating that allows the fabric to have the ability to repair themselves. Some of these developments would allow for fabric with waterproof, or superamphiphobic, properties to beable to repair damage and continue to resist against liquids. The coating on these fabrics would work by melting to seal the gaps in the damage in order to heal itself. Through testing, this technology was found to be quite durable, with it being able to withstand many scratches and washes without compromising the effectiveness of the waterproof properties. Scientists have also been experimenting with E. coli bacteria properties within fabric that can heal itself when damaged much like human skin can.

Rietveld, Fira. “3D Printing: The Face of Future Fashion?” Tedx.amsterdam. 2013. Web. 6 March 2016.

3D printing is becoming more and more mainstream with the advancments and refining of the technology. In this article, Fira Rietveld explores the works of designers like Iris Van Herpen. Herpen, aong with many other designers are developing and designing stunning garments created with 3D printed technology. Herpen has developed the ability to create 3D printed garments that resemble intricate lace and woven spider webs. These types of garments are created using materials like plastics, nylon, wood, and steal, among other things, and are shaped and formed using laser that cut and carve into the materials. These materials are extremely flexible and also very durable which elevates the usage value of these products. Because of the types of materials being used for this technology, designers are also able to manipulate the flexibility of certain parts of garments and customize the garments in that way.

“The Manufacturing Process of Bio-PDO™ and Bio-Based Fibers.” 2016. Dupont.com. DuPont. Web. 30 March 2016.

Companies like DuPont are working to developed bio based fibers with hopes of makes fabrics and fibers more sustainable and eco friendly. Scientists are working to be able to grow these types of fibers and fabrics through the use of genetically engineered plants. With the ability of growing fabrics and fibers, the possibilities are endless in regards to what can be made using this technology.

This article relates to Rebecca Gaddis’ article where she discusses BioCouture, a company that is developing bio based fabrics created with natural materials incluing fungus, algae, and cellulose.

Mau, Dhani. "How 3-D Printing Could Change the Fashion Industry for Better and For Worse." Fashionista.com. 19 July 2013. 31 March 2016.

Dhani Mau explores the possible positive and negative aspects of 3d printing as well as how this technology is being used in the fashion industry in this article. Mau explains that many designers such as Michael Schmidt, Kimberly Ovitz and Iris Van Herpen and companies like Shapeways are beginning to use 3D print technology in their designs and products. Many of these designers have begun developing their 3D printed designs for commercial use and sales. With how rapidly this technology is growing, 3D printing is expected create and entirely now generation of business in the future.

Some of the positive aspects of 3D printing include creating shorter lead times for designers, the ability to produce smaller quantities of a product, and allow easy personalization. It is also a highly recommended technology to smaller, more amateur designers who are experimenting

with idea and design prototyping. 3D printing is also extremely eco friendly and sustainable because the process in which these products are made reduces the waste of raw materials. This technology is also extremely efficient in time and cost.

The negative aspects of 3D printing include rendering manufacturing jobs obsolete, the possibility of legal issues arising dealing with copyright, and difficult quality control. With the introduction of 3D printing, the need for manual labor is greatly reduced which would lead to many jobs within the fashion manufacturing industry becoming unnecessary and unneeded, leading to many people losing their jobs. Because 3D printing is expected to become more and more accessible to average consumers, quality control is expected to become a big issue for designers. This is because 3d print technology will make it easy for consumers to manipulate and alter garments which would change the original design, which would also lead to authenticity and counterfeit becoming an issue for designers and companies. These types of issues could possibly lead to many legal lawsuits between designers and people altering and manipulating their designs.

Like many of the article I have chosen to read and study, this article discusses the specific ways technology will affect and change the fashion industry. It also details the work of many designers and fashion companies from around the world that are beginning to work with 3D printing.

Kimberly Ovitz (relates to article from TED Amsterdam)

Chinese designer masha ma- 3d printed designs3d printed eyewear- asher Levine3d printing is now being found in top design schools

Hennessy, Rachel. "3D Printing Hits the Fashion World." Forbes.com. 7 August 2013. Web. 31 March 2016.

In this article Rachel Hennessy discusses the emergence of 3D printing within the fashion industry. Unlike fields like architecture or science where 3D printing has been being utilized for decades, the fashion industry is only just recently discovering and using 3D printing technology. Even though the 3D printing industry within fashion has grown immensely within the past few years, this technology is still very new to fashion and has a long way to go. Because of this, 3D printing has mainly been used for avant garde designs since being introduced to the fashion industry. Continuum, one of the first fashion companies to create wearable 3D printed clothing, uses materials such as nylon to create their customers’ personalized garments. Because 3D printing makes manufacturing products much easier, cost efficient, and quicker, customers are able to personalize and customize their orders without the threat of lengthy manufacturing times and expensive costs.

RELATES TO ARTICLE ABOUT PROS AND CONS (like a lot)

RELATES TO TED AMSTERDAM ARTICLE

Meyer, Robinson. “The Smart Dress.” Theatlantic.com. May 2015. Web. 1 March 2016.

“The Smart Dress” from The Atlantic is is the original article that I chose to base by reader’s guide off of. This article explores the different ways in which technology is influencing the fashion industry with technologies like 3D printing, custom manufacturing, and wearables and implantables. With the introduction of custom manufacturing customers and consumers now have more say than ever in regards to the different elements and design choices that go into their respective garments. Because of this new development, the work and artistic liscense of the designer is now being given to the customer. Another element that may lead to an even greater rise in custom manufacturing is 3D printing. With 3D printing emerging and progressing at such a rapid pace, the prospect of printing different fashion items such as shoes, fabrics, and other things seems very possible in the very near future. Wearable technologies are also being implanted and incorporated into garments. Items including microchips, data sensors, and connectivity to other devices are being implanted in more than just watches. These devices have the ability to either send or receive information as well was save and process. Garments are being implanted with devices ranging from GPS', pedometers, and sensors that can tell you which muscles you are using at any given time.

Switch Embassy. “Switch Embassy is…” Switchembassy.com. Web. 20 March 2016.

Switch Embassy is a clothing company that has developed theworld’s first LED wired t-shirt that is washable, wearable , and scrunchable. This is ground breaking in both the fashion and technology industry. Not only is this t-shirt safe to wear and expose to the many different elements, but it is also completely customizable. With the use of text messaging on a smart phone, the consumer can personalize a message or picture on the shirt. Aside from the Switch Embassy’s smart t-shirt, the company is also working on many other types of smart garments that include LED technology.

Budman, Scott. “CES: Intel Unveils the ‘Smart Dress’.” Nbcbayarea.com. 7 January 2016. Web. 13 March 2016.

In this video, CES by Intel showcases the “Smart Dress” by Becca McCharen. Designer Becca McCharen is also working to develop fashion that is merged with wearable that have the capability to track people and information. McCharen explains that the dress is entitled the “Adrenaline Dress” because it runs on adrenaline and muscle movement. With the idea that the dress will always fit perfectly, this technology allows the dress to expand in response to the wearer’s movements. The dress is also entirely made of 3D printed material.

Mittica, C.J. “The T-Shirt That Thinks.” Asicentral.com. 21 April 2015. Web. 11 March 2016.

Technology is advancing to the point that it now has the anility to transform the fashion industry as we know it. With the introduction of data collecting implantables, information processing wearables, among other things, fashion is becoming more and more technologically charged. Smart technologies like wearables are expected to completely alter the capabilities of branding and advertising as well as customer consumption.

With the rapid advancements made within the technology and fashion industries, many expect for wearables to become available for wear on the body in the very near future.

Even given all of the possibilities wearables present for both the technology and the fashion industry, this technology comes with many problems. Many of these products are abandonded by consumers, these products are not readily available to the average consumer, and they often perform tasks that other, better products do along with other tasks that the wearable does not do. Many people also struggle with the accessory aspect of these products, for people who do not wear accessories on a daily basis, products like Fitbit or the Apple Watch are not practical and necessary.

Scientists are also developing shirt that can read heart rates, breathing patterns, and motion, which would be very useful in the medical field.

Many expect that in as little as just a few years, wearables will become an integral and normal part of everyday life, but consumer use and access may be further off.

C.J. Mittica also mentions companies like Switch Embassy to discuss the different types of wearable technologies and the implications it will have on the way consumers experience these types of products.