FashionTech is a field that blends haute couture design and mechatronics engineering. It is also something you can study at  as part of an undergraduate degree at the Eindhoven University of Technology. The students there are taking part in this year's Dutch Design Week with a range of insect-inspired garments.

Dutch designer and innovator Anouk Wipprecht is perhaps the best known proponent of Fashion Tech and we first encountered her experiments with 3D-printed dresses powered by microprocessors when she showcased her iconic Spider Dress at CES in 2015.

As well as being a designer, Anouk is also an educator and mentors students at the Fontys School of Engineering. Now as part of a collaboration between Fontys and Summa Fashion, a team of students has created "insectile" garments for Dutch Design Week 2025.

Hear from Anouk and students enrolled on the BeCreative minor about the project: 

By way of hardware, Arduino UNO Rev3 boards control components like LEDs and motors. The designs also make use of a variety of fabrication techniques, from traditional sewing to cutting-edge 3D printing, to create their garments. Then, they integrated the Arduino boards and electronic components to enhance the dynamic elements. One design has fluttering dragonfly-like wings, actuated by servo motors under the control of an Arduino. Another has a glowing skirt illuminated by LEDs, bringing to mind imagery of summer fireflies.

All of the designs included in Like Insects are sure to impress, both for their fashionable qualities and for their underlying engineering. View them from October 18^th to the 26^th at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven or discover more on the Manifestations Website. 

Comments

Make a Comment or View Existing Comments Using Disqus

or email your comment to: comments@i-programmer.info