Ying Goa's Living Pod and Other Works

Canadian fashion designer Ying Gao, born in China (*1973), playfully explores the aesthetic potential at the interface of fashion, art and technology. She uses software to conceptually develop ingenious patterns, and subtly infuses interactive technology into some of her garments.

Five collections by Ying Gao that tell a story about fashion in five original ways are presented at [plug.in], in her first solo exhibition outside of Canada.

Here is an example of one of the works on display....




See the full excerpt at iplugin.com.

XS Labs is a research design studio, located in Canada, working on merging all types of technology and clothing into wearable,functional art. Some of their collaborations include...

The Excitable Sites with Barbara Layne, Chris Salter and Sha Xin Wei.
The Addressable Dress project with Barbara Layne.
The Topological Media Lab at Hexagram
The Code Zebra project with Sara Diamond

The newest project is Skorpions, clothing that slowly changes form during wear...very interesting.

SKORPIONS: behind the scenes
Joanna Berzowska & Marcelo Coelho

"SKORPIONS are 5 kinetic electronic garments that use the shape-memory alloy (SMA) Nitinol to move and change on the body in slow, organic motions. The idea of integrating Nitinol into textiles is an obvious way of achieving shape changing, responsive fabrics. However, even though it sounds simple, the process is quite complicated and expensive, as can be seen by the lack of Nitinol-based shape changing garments on the market today.
SKORPIONS integrate electronic fabrics, soft electronic circuits, specially designed circuit boards, Nitinol, mechanical actuators such as magnets, and traditional textile construction techniques such as sculptural folds and drapes of fabric across the body. The cut of the pattern, the seams, and other construction details become an important component of engineering design.
SKORPIONS are not interactive: their programming does not respond to sensor data. They are more like living organisms or moving sculptures that display characteristics such as control, anticipation, and unpredictability."

They also have a blog http://xslabs.blogspot.com.

Intellifit is not brand new but it is definitley noteworthy!I can't wait until it reaches the masses!!!! I have been dreaming of a tool like this to determine that my clothes fit perfectly, without having to try them on. Every mall should have this so you can go in, get your measurements, take them with you, and shop on-line at your leisure. Moms can shop peacefully! All retailers need to get on board.

From the Intellifit Website:
"Hi, we're Intellifit. One-part technology, one-part Design Studio. We've created a system that allows you to get a great pair of jeans custom made for your body shape and measurements. You can even design a few different looks. And it's easy. Imagine that.

Intellifit has been around a few years. Now, with our own manufacturing resource, we've created a Design Studio in the Philadelphia suburbs. And that's where you can get custom fitted for a great pair of jeans.

It's all possible with what we call a “Virtual Fitting Room” (VFR). The VFR is the size of a traditional fitting room and electronically detects your measurements with safe, low-power radio waves. It takes dozens of measurements in about 20 seconds. Once the measurements are generated the information is processed to produce a custom pattern that's created by the manufacturer. The VFR is completely safe. In fact, cell phones emit more radio waves than our VFR."

Recent MIT Graduate's Solution for Obtaining the Perfect Shirt

MIT Entrepreneur Launches Fashion 2.0 Startup: Proper Cloth Offering Custom Dress Shirts Online

    NEW YORK, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Proper Cloth, a clothing label
offering high-end, customizable men's dress shirts, launched to the public
this week. As a technology driven fashion company, Proper Cloth leverages
the latest in web-application, 3D modeling and mass-customization supply
chain technology to offer made to measure, personalized dress shirts for
the same price as mass produced dress shirts sold in retail stores.

 Founder Seph Skerritt, an electrical engineer and recent graduate from
MIT, is a strong advocate of applying technology to unexpected problems, in
this case, the problem that most men can't find dress clothes they like.
According to Seph, "For men frustrated with boring dress shirt styles or
off the rack sizes that never fit right, Proper Cloth provides a lot of
value. Men can finally get the shirt style they want in a size that fits
exactly as it should. Shopping has never been more convenient."

 With Proper Cloth's online design tool, customers first select a fabric
they like, choosing from a wide variety of colors in solids, stripes and
other patterns. They then choose a collar, cuff and pocket style. To
personalize the garment, customers can select a unique fabric for the
inside of the shirt's collar band or the inside of the shirts cuffs, or add
a monogram. Expert style advice guides less fashion-savvy shoppers.
Customers can specify their shirt's size by selecting another shirt's size
they like and making modifications or by submitting their body measurements
and letting Proper Cloth compute their personal size. Customers can even
directly specify garment dimensions if they choose. Proper Cloth shirts are
delivered to customers 1-4 weeks from the date of purchase with prices
start around $90.

 Based in New York, Proper Cloth is part technology startup and part
fashion company. Propercloth.com utilizes the latest web application
technology to deliver an intuitive, enjoyable user experience. Proprietary
3D modeling software digitally renders a preview of the garment as it is
designed. Proper Cloth uses proprietary fit algorithms to calculate shirt
patterns from a variety of inputs. Fabric pieces are computer precision cut
and hand sewn for an exact, consistent fit. All shirts are produced in the
United States using premium fabrics sourced from Italy.

 For more information, please email contact@propercloth.com, or see
http://propercloth.com .