Edward Willett

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Super clothes

Choosing what to wear in the morning is about to become even harder. Should one choose the bullet-proof blouse, the colour-changing cardigan, or the self-heating sari? Clothing is about to be revolutionized by a slough of new technologies. Imagine, for example, fabric that can change pattern or colour on demand. International Fashion Machines, a small company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has developed Electric Plaid, which can do just that. Currently on display as part of the National Design Triennial at New York’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Electric Plaid looks like a multicoloured, hand-woven textile--but a circuit board attached to the back can be programmed to send current through conductive fibers woven into the textile, heating ...

Posted by Edward Willett at 23:11, August 12th, 2003 under Blog, Columns, Science Columns | Comment now »