Future Culture

Futurist Writer Lei Kalina writes her tongue-in-cheek musings and ramblings on the growing worldwide phenomenon of the growth of the Future Culture in the 21st Century

Future Culture In The 21st Century

Future Culture In the 21st Century

Futures Studies, Foresight, or Futurology , according to Wikipedia, is the science, art and practice of postulating possible, probable, and preferable futures and the worldviews and myths that underlie them. Futures studies (colloquially called "Futures" by many of the field's practitioners) seeks to understand what is likely to continue, what is likely to change, and what is novel. Part of the discipline thus seeks a systematic and pattern-based understanding of past and present, and to determine the likelihood of future events and trends. Futures is an interdisciplinary field, studying yesterday's and today's changes, and aggregating and analyzing both lay and professional strategies, and opinions with respect to tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Futuristic Fashion


MODERN TECHNOLOGY combined with the knock-‘em-dead creative geniuses in the fashion world --- perfect combination to send the cynics and skeptics’ heads a-whirlin’ and a-twirlin’ .



Now , this is great stuff to talk about in the 21st century!



First, there’s the so-called space couture design which is making head-turning, eyebrow-raising, and even hair-raising inventions, via the “zero gravity wedding dress” . Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency recently held its “starry eyed fashion competition” Space Couture Design, and to launch it, chairperson Eri Matsui, has designed the wedding dress which transforms when on zero gravity area.



Space couture design

Zerogravity























( www.shinyshiny.tv reports: on the left of the photo is the "zero gravity wedding dress",as it would look on Earth, and the right version shows how the dress would appear in zero gravity )





Cute Circuit, an interaction design consultancy and research lab founded by Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz specializing in wearable computing, art installation and education, has more up its sleeve.


There's the Kinetic Dress, changing patterns when the wearer interacts with others or walks. If the wearer stands still or sits alone, the dress is just black, when she moves and interact with others the garment slowly lights up with a blue-circles pattern that creates a magic halo .



KineticDress.jpg


The Skirteleon, meantime , is a skirt chameleon based on a laminated fabric that changes color "on-demand": blue in the morning when the wearer is working, then shows a pattern with animal characters when the wearer is with friends for an drink, and in the evening it displays a japanese pattern. Unbelievable .


And then there's Mystique, also much like a dress chameleon which changes its shape and length : while the night is young, the knee-length dress is in pale gray color with a soft padded surface. But as the night deepens, just like a lady trying to curl up with the nighttime chills, the dress gets longer, and even changes colors! Wow!



Techiediva.com reports Cute Circuit's invention of the "world's first interactive wedding dress" called the "Kiss Me" gown and suit made of pure Indian Silk for a lucky couple in Sweden who tied the knot in a very original way.

And at the dramatic conclusion of the ceremony, when the happy couple kissed, two messages containing before unspoken love words were passed from one to the other (one from him to her, and one from her to him). The messages are shown only to the couple through a miniscule display integrated inside the trim of the clothes for absolute romantic-secrecy... The wired garments transform into regular outfits that could be worn many times after the honeymoon is over. The wedding gown’s train is removable so the skirt could be turned inside out for a change of color."


http://shinymedia.headshift.com/images/images/cute_circuit_interactive.jpg



Cute Circuit proponents explain their "wearable technology" :

"At CuteCircuit we are working on making technology that is more usable, emotionally fulfilling, and fun! We think that wearables will be the future tool for personal communication. Like a dynamic surface around our bodies able to connect us to people and places. The most used communication tool today is the mobile phone, we believe that the wearable technology and the telecommunication market will merge in a not very distant future. Many of our wearables are compatible via Bluetooth with mobile phones, this allows for a faster deployment and adoption of this technology."

"CuteCircuit wearables are beautiful and pleasant to wear: no loose wires, no hard shells, and no backpacks full of batteries or visible technology (unless for decoration). We pay great attention to details and technological solutions in a sartorial view of technology."

"The wearable technologies that we develop are RoHS compliant, it means that no lead or mercury are present in the garments. We design technology that is safe for both the wearer and the environment."


www.Cutecircuit.com


Featured Projects

PLEAT

hand-made heat-formed textile

PLEAT is a collection of garments featuring hand-made heat-formed textiles. The collection features a waterproof jacket, with a layer of pleated organza covering a sleeve and part of the front, a pleated dress where the pleats can be reversed to make the dress more or less tight on the body, and a skirt, embroidered with heat-formed pockets. The heat-formed textiles reatain their shape even when they are stressed by daily use of the garments or after washing.

Hug Shirt

Hug Shirt Profile


The Hug Shirt is a wearable Bluetooth accessory for your mobile phone. The Hug Shirt allows to exchange the physical sensation of being hugged over distance through telecommunication networks.

KineticDress

Kinetic Dress Pattern


The KineticDress is part of the Transfor-Me collection developed for the NEMO Science museum in Amsterdam. The KineticDress changes color and pattern depending on the activity of the wearer.

Skirteleon

Skirteleon Pattern


The Skirteleon is part of the Transfor-Me collection developed for the NEMO Science museum in Amsterdam. The Skirteleon changes color and pattern “on-demand” depending on the activities and mood of the wearer during the course of the day.

Mystique

Mystique Dress

The Mystique Dress is part of the Transfor-Me collection developed for the NEMO Science museum in Amsterdam. The Mystique Dress changes shape and color depending on the time of the day increasing in length from morning to night.

A-Nerve

Accessory Nerve

The Accessory Nerve is a Bluetooth wearable accessory for mobile phones. When the Accessory Nerve receives an incoming call the fabric pleats on the sleeve change pattern.

Embedded Theater

Child wearing ET headset

Embedded Theater is a wearable augmented-reality device. The Embedded Theater analyzes the user location and direction of sight and the system delivers audio narrative and navigational information.







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