Light and Magic

So the field of technology and textiles is very exciting right now. No, not the bizarre satrire proposed by The Yes Men in disguise as WTO representatives at the 2001 Textiles of the Future conference.

Rather I'm talking about all the absolutely amazing research and development happening internationally in material/textile design, creating wearable garments and textiles that communicate/interact/change etc. based on environmental inputs of various types. There's so much radness going on in this medium that you should probably make that cup of tea you were thinking about, and get ready for a long read. Check it:

The Interactive Institute

This Stockholm-based school is blowing minds on a daily basis across the new media/technology fields. Definitely worth cruising around the research section of their site... some really amazing work.

Their IT + Textiles research design program in particular is doing some great work:


This bag is intended for use with several sensors that react and reflect the environment. Light strips react to sensors that measure sound level, light, temperature.


Reach around scarves reveal or create patterns and even hidden messages based hanging on environmental conditions (sunlight, temperature, wind). The first sketches provide warmth in addition to changing the pattern of the scarf based on temperature. When it gets cold outside, the scarves heat up and chage patterns.

The Banff New Media Institute

Close to home, and doing really cool stuff too, is this great school out in Banff. They don't have much in the way of images on their site, but are definitely working on some cutting edge stuff. The following is from a collaborative project called Code Zebra, which is very cool, despite its terribly optimized and slow-loading website.


No, I don't know what these garments do either. Yeah, no, I wouldn't wear them... hells no.

XS Labs

XS Labs is a design research studio where "we develop artifacts that are extra soft and react in weird ways to our bodies and our environments. We play, we experiment, we develop new technologies, we make art, and we design prototypes in electronic textiles and wearable computing."

I'll be honest - a lot of their stuff is just fucking weird (like their worst-idea-ever Inflating Hips Dress). But you've got to love these Montreal kids for being this out there.


These neckline flowers open and close in response to heat levels, on a 15 second cycle.

Commercial Products

On left - the shirt is a working equalizer - responding to music and sound. On right - hey, it's a clock yo. Out-doing Flava Flav, one shirt at a time.

Rachel Whigfield and loop.ph

This is my favourite of the IT+textile designers. A british artist/designer, she is absolutely amazing. Below is just a small sampling of her work, some done in collaboration with her partner in Loop, sound/interactive artist Mathias Gmachl.


Light Sleeper is an illuminating, personalised alarm integrated into bedding that gently wakes in the most natural way. This pillow and duvet simulates a natural dawn that eases you into your day


The History Table tablecloth signals how long things have been left upon it. If an object is left on the table for a while, a glowing halo forms beneath it that grows slowly over time, until the object is moved.

Sonic City Project

This is a pretty cool project - still at the prototype stage. They have put together a jacket that creates electronic music based on sensing bodily and environmental factors. Mapping these to the real-time processing of concrete sounds, Sonic City generates a personal soundscape co-produced by physical movement, local activity, and urban ambiance. The video below is an outtake from a testing series, showing roughly how the whole thing works.