What to wear for the weather
The immensely prescient Elise Co is not only a founding partner of
Aeolab ? a
prototyping and design firm which boasts no less than
Frog
Design as a client ? she also produces a significant amount of
high-touch, high-technology personal work. One of her more
whimsical projects is
Puddlejumper, a raincoat covered in hand-silkscreened
electroluminescent lamps and conductive water sensors. As drops hit
the sensors, corresponding flush-mounted panels illuminate ?
flickering and creating an animated pattern of light ? playfully
mirroring the rhythm of the rain across the surface of the
clothing. From her
Gizmodo interview:
?My
previous fashion/technology projects had a lot of concept behind
them, and for Puddlejumper I just wanted to make something direct
and playful. Although I didn't extrapolate at the time, I think
that weather is potentially a big motivator for incorporating
electronics into clothing. Visibility and safety are obvious
justifications for light emitting clothing.? More of Elise?s
personal work can be viewed at
Mintymonkey and her former
doctoral research
page at the MIT Media Lab Aesthetics + Computation Group.
Share
Permalink
