Fashion’s final frontier: Techno-Couture

Many of us think that Imperial could not be further removed from the world of fashion, however I’d like to persuade you otherwise. Both fashion and technology are constantly evolving industries; fickle and always in search of the new ‘it’ product to entice buyers into yet another superfluous purchase. Therefore one can only imagine the force generated when these two polarised worlds collide...

Fashion Reconstructed

So firstly to all of you studying materials and engineering, take a look at the mad scientist of the fashion world, Mr Hussein Chalayan; a genius when it comes to designing clothes from the most unlikely recycled materials. One of his works includes an airplane dress (SS ’00) made from aircraft-construction materials. And, for those boys who fantasize about undressing a girl at the push of a button, this dress changes shape by remote control! But what really put his name on the fashion world map was his following collection in which he transformed chairs and tables into skirts and other garments in front of the eyes of the front row. And Lady GaGa, the queen of avant-garde, is also a fan - remember the bubble dress from her fame ball tour? - she ‘re-created’ it from his SS’07 show. So what are you waiting for? Get the pencils out from behind your ears and your measuring tapes from your back pocket and get creative!

Geometric Proportions

Now, attention maths geeks: why not follow Issey Miyake’s lead and put the Golden Ratio to good use to produce unique geometric garments. Her collection ‘132.5. Issey Miyake’, was inspired by none other than the computer scientist Jun Mitani who has produced a programme that can create 3-D structures from a single sheet of paper just like origami! Issey Miyake explains the title of her collection, “1” signifies a single piece of fabric; “3” and “2” refer to the three-dimensional shape which can be flattened into a two-dimensional form; and “5” is a reference to the fifth dimension.“ The fifth dimension, according to Miyake, is the precise moment when the garment is worn on the body and comes to life. If only geometry back at school was more like this….

Fashion Surgery

A quick one for you medics…Instead of twiddling your thumbs during the next MCD practical, why not steal some of the equipment to create your own version of Dutch haute-tech designer Anouk Wipprecht’s dresses: Pseudomorphs. She uses repurposed medical equipment and custom designed electronics attached to a neck brace to trickle ink down a white dress to produce a unique pattern. Then again, I wouldn’t advice trying this out with red dye on scrubs, you probably won’t get a great response for your ‘art’ from your patients!

Let there be light

Last but not least, EEE. The current catwalk’s latest craze is illuminating their clothes and accessories. Anastasia Radevich has created a stunning collection of shoes for 2011. The designs themselves are head-turners but made even more magical with the added feature of a mesh of LED lights. However, the most inspirational collection must once again be Mr Chalayan’s Swarovski Tokyo Show ’08. By aiming red lasers at crystal-encrusted dresses, he created a mesmerising burning embers effect. This is where I feel fashion truly becomes art. A YouTube watch is a must.

For those interested in the future of fashion, I highly recommend a trip to the Barbican where they have an exhibition on the leaders of techno-couture, the Japanese. The Future Beauty: 30 years of Japanese fashion is open until February 2011. I hope I have managed to inspire some of you to direct your scientific minds in a more artistic direction, proving that us geeks can do fashion.