The last two posts moved from porcelain pieces as inspirations for fashion. Maybe some readers will not be convinced by this inspiration: porcelain, they may highlight, is static and boring, while fashion inspirations should exude dynamism and vibrancy.
But let's not underestimate porcelain's potential for dynamism, as exemplified by select pieces at Taipei's National Palace Museum.
A display at the museum features indeed examples of revolving vases. These vases comprise two parts, an inner and an outer vessel, ingeniously designed so that one can rotate independently.
The revolving vases frequently employed two techniques: openwork and interlocking. Openwork refers to the method of carving away holes in the surface. This differs from the reticulated technique, where the aim is to create a woven basket-like effect. On the other hand, interlocking involves joining the upper and lower sections without adhering them.
The showcased vases in this post all hail from the Qing Dynasty (1736 - 1795). The first image shows an exquisite revolving vase adorned with swimming fish in a cobalt blue glaze.
The second piece presents a rotating interior decorated with openwork featuring eight trigram and ruyi-cloud pattern motifs set against a yellow background, complemented by fencai polychrome enamels. The ruyi pattern created by the vessel's cross-section underscores the exceptional quality of interlocking decoration.
Other striking examples include a bowl with a rotating foot, while the fourth image in this post offers an unexpected twist. It's not a vase at all, but an item that serves for a fashion accessory.
Can you guess what is it? No? Well, it is a stunning hat stand intricately adorned with openwork dragon and cloud motifs, brought to life through the vibrant hues of fencai polychrome enamels. This fusion of art and practicality is a testament to the creative possibilities that porcelain can offer us.
But how can we infuse dynamism into fashion? This is a question that has intrigued designers for decades and many creative minds explored the possibilities of designing garments and accessories that mutate as we wear them.
We saw an example of transformative design last week when Adobe introduced its "digital dress," named "Project Primrose," at Adobe MAX 2023, the world's largest creativity conference held in Los Angeles.
The garment is essentially a simple strapless cocktail dress, worn for the occasion by its creator, research scientist Christine Dierk. It is adorned on the front with what may look like sequins but are actually petal or scale-shaped elements, modular tiles made of PDLC smart glass (a type of liquid crystal).
These tiles serve as "reflective light-diffuser modules," harnessing liquid crystals to allow wearers to display content generated through Adobe applications such as Adobe Firefly (that can be used to create imagery from text prompts using generative AI), Adobe After Effects, Adobe Stock, and Adobe Illustrator.
Touching a button, Dierk demonstrated the dress's ability to change colours and patterns instantly, transitioning from matte white to sparkling silver. Moreover, the dress can transform from static to animated, with intricate patterns forming on the surface in response to the wearer's movements, thanks to embedded sensors.
However, it's important to note that Project Primrose is still a prototype - a glimpse into the possibilities of future technology. The colour change currently stops at white and silver, but the team, consisting of Dierk, Gavin Miller (VP of Adobe Research), and TJ Rhodes (lead of the Emerging Devices Group), is working on expanding the range of colours and capabilities.
The potential applications for this technology extend far beyond fashion; it could indeed be applied to a variety of items and fields, from fashion and clothing or accessories to architecture and interior design. Dierk emphasized the interactive nature of this innovation during the presentation, stating, "Fashion doesn't have to be static. It can be dynamic and even interactive. And we're excited for a future where there's more ways to express yourself."
The prospect of effortlessly integrating electronics into our everyday lives and garments with e-textiles has fascinated many tech companies in the last decade or so and this is only natural as, according to a report by IDTechEx, the worldwide e-textiles market is projected to hit $783 million by 2033, marking a 3.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023.
Nevertheless, Project Primrose does not convince: firstly, the prototype looked very basic with smart petals only on the front that made the garment look rigid, like a hourglass shaped sandwich board (the technology behind the design also obliged the wearer to keep her arms folded behind her back to activate it). Secondly, sustainability remains a challenge (can the design be disassembled and reconfigured/recycled? we weren't told...).
Another concern is the risk of obsolescence, that applies to all the wearable devices incorporating smart technologies and operated with specific systems and apps. An example? In 2016 Levi's partnered with Google's Project Jacquard, which integrated touch sensors and haptic feedback into denim jackets woven with conductive fibers. More projects followed with different companies incorporating Google's technology into their garments and accessories (among the others Yves Saint Laurent and Samsonite's backpacks) that allowed the wearer to perform certain tasks on their phone without actually touching it. Yet, in March 2023, Google shut down the Jacquard app made by Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) that served to pair the garment with a smartphone.
So, despite the viral popularity of the video showcasing the digital dress and the smooth animations on the garment, Project Primrose remains a novelty dress that may actually even be not that novel if you consider the history of fashion.
For decades fashion designers have indeed worked on creations that could transform and mutate, altering the appearance of the wearer and surprising in this way people around them.
In the early '80s Italian artist and fashion designer Cinzia Ruggeri created for her Spring/Summer 1982 collection designs conceived as kinetic pieces with sections in primary colours that, when hit by light gave the impression they were moving or that featured patterns made with liquid crystals graduated at a certain temperature. When the temperature changed they reacted producing different colours. These designs were early environmental garments modified by the changes that occurred in the spaces surrounding the wearer or in accordance with the wearer's body temperature. They were remarkable as they introduced a new technology, but they were still elegant, feminine and wearable.
Alexander Wang developed further this concept in his A/W 14 heat-sensitive garments, but in other cases dynamism was achieved using lights.
LED lights were often employed in the history of fashion to create mutating patterns on the wearer's body: as you may remember, Hussein Chalayan's Autumn/Winter 2007 "Airborne" collection included a dress that shone with 15,600 LEDs creating mesmerising effects.
Fashionistas who love that mutability effect at more affordable prices can also turn to companies producing budget-friendly accessories integrating LED screens such as Divoom that makes resistant slingbags and rucksacks allowing the wearer to customise their accessories through an app with their own pixel art.
Anrealage's Kunihiko Morinaga is the master of transformative designs (something that fascinated also Beyoncé who donned his colour-changing designs during her Renaissance tour) and often infuses them with dynamism thanks to photochromatic fabrics.
For over a decade the designer worked on contrasts between lights and shadows, experimenting with his photosensitive fabrics and photonic-crystal fibers, consistently playing with light reactive textiles and designing intriguing garments that react in different ways according to the angle and intensity of the light hitting them, letting other colours or patterns appear.
At the end of September, during Paris Fashion Week, Morinaga continued his exploration of photochromic materials in Anrealage's Spring/Summer 2024 collection. This time, his focus was on generating colours through transparencies.
Models graced the runway donning inflatable or quilted transparent photochromatic garments free from phthalates, layered atop white Fair Trade cotton bodysuits featuring the Anrealage monogram pattern.
When exposed to ultraviolet light, these transparent ensembles filled with air (that Morinaga dubbed "giant couture bubble wrap") and accentuated with strips of fabric or adorned with crocheted squares, burst to life with a vibrant spectrum of colors, causing the patterned bodysuits to also undergo a colorful transformation. The crocheted designs ended up evoking the beauty of stained glass windows, an effect highlighted also by the solemn music accompanying the collection (that also included a version of Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 In D Minor, BWV 1068: Aria that evoked the one by The Swingle Singers).
Unlike Morinaga's previous emphasis on colour alteration, this collection ventured into the realm of turning transparent materials into vivid, colorful creations.
The guiding principle behind the collection was the dichotomy between visibility and invisibility. This concept was manifested through designs that, while invisible themselves, had the power to make their wearers stand out.
Morinaga introduced another theme – the idea of a hidden (and therefore invisible) craftsmanship that went into creating intricate pieces.
The collection's final creations, inspired by Morinaga's signature patchwork designs, evoked the mesmerizing effects of a kaleidoscope (and bizarrelly also called to mind the illuminated sacred vestments of the ecclesiastical catwalk in Fellini's Roma).
In summary, this collection, that also featured an assortment of bags and boots crafted from photochromatic PVC, was a dynamic blend of '60s aesthetics and sci-fi influences. It was far from an "Emperor's New Clothes" scenario: here even the invisible designs actually existed and made a visible impact.
The designer tackled the themes of transformation and mutability, but he did so in a very different way, focusing on pieces that can be produced and worn.
Tech companies trying to produce striking garments that should provide us with a glimpse of the future of fashion, instead often aim for one-hit wonders that might never materialize, too often focusing on Instagram-friendly designs rather than researching groundbreaking patents that could truly revolutionize the industry.
Some may argue that not all the pieces in Anrealage's new collection are practical for everyday wear, but items like the sleeveless trenchcoats and the cocooning glass-like coats covered with three-dimensional flowery motifs and swirls (elaborate reinventions of Schiaparelli's cape de verre?) were wearable and highly desirable.
The entire collection also showcased the remarkable level the Anvisual technology has reached. Morinaga has been working for a decade on this technology that allows photochromic properties to be incorporated into fabrics, enabling them to change colour upon exposure to UV light.
This innovation, which he has trademarked, is also featured in a collaboration with X8 for eyewear, and in another partnership with an Italian label that will be announced next year.
It's not far-fetched to think that Anvisual technology could extend to other domains, possibly leading to architectural collaborations for Morinaga.
So, can porcelain be dynamic? Certainly. And should clothes and accessories be dynamic? Obviously, yes.
However, rather than wasting resources on one-hit wonders that quickly become outdated, high-tech companies should redirect their focus towards real-life clothing and applications that can inject excitement and novelty into our wardrobes, while remaining genuinely innovative and also improving the life of the wearers (couldn't we use powerful technologies and sensors to develop more garments for people with specific disabilities, illnesses, disorders and health conditions? after all, we already have shirts that can track a person's heart rate).
In most cases these companies incorporate electronics through e-textiles, but maybe the key to producing something more exclusive is to collaborate more with textile manufacturers, as Morinaga has consistently done. That is paramount if we want to envision a tangible future for fashion – a future where we may go around clad in fabulous shape-shifting colour-morphing garments, while still looking like human beings rather than resembling human billboards.
Comments