Smart textiles

In the interdisciplinary e-textile project, fashion and game design students collaborated to create textile game controllers and clothing that use conductive fabrics, threads, and sensors to control a computer.

Fashion and technology may seem like two entirely different worlds. Fashion is creativity linked to form and appearance, outward-facing. Technology, on the other hand, focuses more on functionality, discovery, and making things work. Collaboration and entrepreneurship bring out the best in both disciplines.

The original function of clothing is to protect the body and retain body heat. The functions added to clothing through wearable technology vary widely, and these techniques are currently gaining significant attention. For instance, by integrating electronic components into textiles, communication can occur between garments and other electronic devices. Products such as heart rate and temperature monitors, smartphones, and more can be embedded into fabrics. Applications of these technologies and materials are already being implemented in the sports and medical fields.