This yearʼs IntertechPira Smart Fabrics Conference, now inits 7th year, was held at Londonʼs Hotel Russell. Theconference brings together professionals from technology,fashion, textiles, electronics and academia to discuss recentadvancements in technology and the future of smart fabrics.

Chaired by Stacey Burr, CEO of Textronics and VicePresident of Adidas Wearable Sports Electronics, the two-dayconference offered a varied line up of speakers includingtechnologists, artists, scientists, fashion designers andelectronic engineers.

The pre-conference seminar, “Fashion Phreaking”, offered ahands-on warm-up held by Studio Nancy Tilbury. Tilbury,who has a background in fashion design, studied at the RoyalCollege of Art before going on to work for Philips Design intheir wearable electronics department. Her studio currentlyconsults for Philips, Nicola Formichetti (stylist to Lady Gagaand Thierry Mugler creative director), and the WellcomeTrust, while also directing the MA Fashion course at KingstonUniversity.

Studio Nancy Tilbury aims to “reform the craft of fashion,” byexploring how new technologies can become embedded inour lifestyles through fashion. The seminar Tilbury presentedwas based around the studioʼs “wink” technology denimshorts, which light up when pressed by the wearer. The light-up technology was inspired by the gay sub-culture practice ofusing differently colored bandanas to signal sexualpreferences as well as the increasingly immodest use ofsocial media among younger age groups.

The afternoon workshop saw participants making smallelectronic circuits using copper threads and LED lightsstitched to denim. When powered by a small battery andgently touched, the lights lit up, making for a small-scaleexploration of how wearable electronics could impact ourlives in future.

Fashion designer Anke Loh began Wednesdayʼs conferenceschedule with an inspiring retrospective look at her work overthe last decade. Lohʼs designs focus on interactive fashion,both personal and environmental. She also explores theintegration of technology and fabric, such as light and heatsensitive inks and fabrics as well as optical fibers that emitlight.

In 2006, Loh worked with Lumalive technology provided byPhilips. Lumalive is a system of embedding LEDʼsseamlessly and invisibly into fibers with batteries orelectronics. The resulting garment was a simple vestfeaturing Lohʼs video of a face, which had the appearance ofa projection on fabric. These highly integrated technologiesembedded into fabric pave the way for future screen-lessinteractions with technology.

Akseli Roh, CEO of Clothing+, presented an inspiring talkabout the very real applications of new sensor textiletechnologies for the sports and medical industries. Usingmanufacturing techniques such as laser cutting, ultrasonicwelding and lamination, Clothing+ has been able toimplement comfortable sensor systems that are both invisibleand reliable.

Sensors are able to measure heart rate, movements such asstretching or bending, and to monitor sound. The implicationsof such sensors for the medical industry are twofold: patientscan keep track and motivate themselves on a daily basis,and doctors can remotely monitor their patients daily, as wellas download information at monthly check ups. Widespreadpossibilities for sensor insertions include vests, bed sheets,carpets, plasters, bandages, shoes and hats among manyothers, making this technology a very real proposition fortodayʼs increasingly health conscious marketplace.

Dr. Jan Zimmerman, the new Head of Technical Textiles atForster Rohner, is charged with the daunting task ofintroducing new technologies to a Swiss embroiderycompany with over 100 years of history. Pressures on pricesin the fashion industry are high, and the Swiss company isnow looking to innovate beyond its beautiful fabric range tosmart technology as a way of securing a future in theindustry.

One of the main breakthroughs for Janʼs team was the 2009Climate Dress made in collaboration with Copenhagen baseddesign studio Diffus, the Danish School of Design, and theDanish research-based company Alexandra Institute. Thedress was embroidered with conductive soft thread, a CO2sensor, Lilypad processor and over one hundred micro LEDlights, which reacted to the levels of CO2 in the surroundingatmosphere.

The Climate Dressʼs sensor system taps into just one ofmany health concerns over our surrounding atmosphere andenvironment, leading the way for clever use of smarttechnology beyond any aesthetic or social functions alreadyexplored.

Catherine Rogan of Smart Garment People brought to lightthe realities of fabric technologies needed by front-lineservicemen such as soldiers, police officers and firemen, allof whom face entirely new challenges in the current climate.From explosives and natural disaster search and rescue, tochemical and biological threats, fabrics need to be lighter,cooler, hydrophobic, flame retardant, and ergonomicallycomfortable for long periods of time.

Her business is currently advising on the use of many newtechnologies. Remote physiological monitoring is available tomonitor heat stress and the movements of soldiers, whileimpact detectors are available in the form of color changeindicators, made possible by nano crystal researchdevelopments. New research into bone conductive headsetspose a real possibility for covert operations, where vibrationsconducted through the skull would ensure communicationsthat only the wearer would be able to hear.

Other developments include phase change materials whichstore and release heat, auxetic yarns combining stretch yarnsinside non-stretch yarns, for protection against blasts, liquidcooling systems and intelligent body mapping techniques tocool the wearerʼs blood.

Jane McCannʼs “Design for Aging Well” project showedanother incredibly important outlet for smart fabrics — theaging population. Her studies from the Royal College of Artare now continuing with her role as Director of the SmartClothes and Wearable Technology Unit at the University ofWales.

Her research has involved thoroughly investigating the needsof the elderly and the lack of appropriately designed itemsavailable. McCann established that on a daily basis theelderly make use of quite a bit of technology, from carrying apedometer to using a mobile phone and camera, and thatthere are specific design needs for this market apart from themore obvious aesthetic and sizing issues.

Developments needed include padding for elbows andknees, clothing that is easy to move around in, engineeredknits for intimate apparel, ease of fastenings, and thermalregulation — all areas which have been thoroughly cateredfor in active sports apparel yet are sadly lacking for theelderly market.

Professor Robin Mueller closed the conference with a talk onher extensive work with textiles and technology at the NovaScotia College of Art and Design, as part of the Centre forCultural Technology and Innovation. The Lab seeks to“develop smart textiles for architectural applications” yethasother far-reaching innovations including textiles whichreact to sound, movement, sunlight and touch. A key project for the lab was the development of an LEDdress for the Maria Osende flamenco dance company. Thelaser cut dress had smart LEDs hidden in the lining, with awrist activated accelerometer changing the lights dependingon vertical movement and speed of movement. The warming hut, an interactive architectural space, has alsobeen a key project for the lab. Initially conceived as awarming hut for skaters on Halifax Common, the hut employsvarious technologies to warm and engage the user. Onceinside, the visitor is invited to sit on seats made from multipleheated straps, and to place hands in warmed mittens. Sensors inside the mittens capture the visitorʼs heartbeat andtransmits the audio pulse punctuated by soft flashing lights.With considerable research grants for future endeavors, theteam continues to work towards merging traditional textilemanufacturing techniques.

The conference raised many concurring points made byspeakers throughout the three-day seminar. A key issue withsmart fabrics is how to make them more washable, morewearable and more mass market, as currently keydevelopments from fashion designers and technologists areone-off items. Coating and laminating technology seems atan early stage and much work needs to be done to solve thisstumbling block.

Another key area of interest was the application of smartfabrics for real problems such as front-line services, theelderly, and the medical industries. In such contexts, futuredevelopments of smart fabric will solve important problemsfor our society.

Another main factor was the impact of the iPad and iPhone,with touch screens igniting ideas for screen-less andembedded technology imagined by films such as The MinorityReport. With fabrics being such a key part of our everydaylives, from the moment we wake till we fall asleep, it seemstextiles are where the future lies for real integration of suchtechnologies.

www.smartfabricsconference.com

nancytilbury.blogspot.com

ankeloh.net

www.clothingplus.fi/

www.forsterrohner.ch/

www.diffus.dk/pollutiondress/intro.htm

www.smartgarmentpeople.com/

www.newdynamics.group.shef.ac.uk/design-for-ageing.html

www.filumltd.arch.dal.ca/