TBA
Living Textiles: Merging the Boundaries Between Fashion and Interior Products
Advancements in technology have made it increasingly possible for designers to integrate different functions into the one product. Where traditionally several products may have performed various tasks, designers now adapt technology to cross product boundaries, challenging perceptions of the role of products in our lives. Fashion has been particularly influenced by this integration of technology, effecting the manufacture, appearance and function of clothing. Wearable computers explore possible relationships between the fields of communications and fashion, and smart textiles can be incorporated into clothing to monitor health. Traditionally fashion and textiles have played an important role within the domestic interior and therefore it is no surprise that products are emerging for the home which apply technological textiles. The significance of this link increases as the domestic interior, and the products we surround ourselves with, becomes an extension of our personal image presenting new arenas for design of hybrid products which explore these relationships. In this paper we aim to further explore the connection between technology, fashion and the domestic interior, including an analysis emerging products that are crossing these boundaries. It will also discuss a product we have developed to specifically question the role of fashion and integration of technology within the interior, combining the function of a wearable object that becomes a light. The product is a scarf (Shaali; scarf/light ), embedded with lighting and wiring which creates a highly decorative, wearable piece. On returning to the home, the scarf is left on a hat stand, connecting the circuit and creating a light for the interior.
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