With emerging research and development with soft circuit technologies and its
integration into textile and clothing design, the garment as a reactive interface opens up new possibilities in engendering self-expressions, sensory experiences and more.
This 7-weeks class is to introduce students to this realm by creating connections
between hardware engineering and textile crafting. The class is for students with basic physical computing knowledge to explore the possibility of wearables, and arouse discussion about the potential in re-imagining our relationship with textiles and garment design as an interactive media.
What will students do?
The class will contain the process of wearable design and prototyping. We will look at the history of textiles and fashion, and discuss how they and technology influenced each other. The topics we will discuss in class will include self-expression, sensory experience, communications, identities and social justice. We will explore a variety of wearables and e-textile technologies, including but not limited to: conductive textile crafting, on-body sensors, actuators, modular circuitry, wireless communications, and manufacturing. Students will get hands-on experience of designing and prototyping wearable projects individually or in groups. Weekly projects would vary from e-textile swatches to interactive garments.