Wind Reactive Ink Alters Clothing Color Based on Contact with the Air

The air is made up of many different components that are products of our environment, including pollution, moisture, and more. London-based artist Lauren Bowker and her material exploration studio THE UNSEEN have developed a form of ink that's reactive to the different fluctuations in the wind as well as our own body. It's demonstrated in a couture capsule collection entitled Air, which was designed for Swarovski and presented during London's Fashion Week 2014.

The biological and chemical technology is integrated into layers of fabric and transforms its color in response to pressure change. Air‘s nano compounds, inks, and dyes are capable of sensing up to seven stimuli: heat, UV, pollution, moisture, chemicals, friction, and sound. Each element has a different color-altering effect; pollution, for instance, can change between yellow to black. The result is that it translates our environment into a stunning visual representation, where a multi-faceted garment is reminiscent of an insect's iridescent exoskeleton.

THE UNSEEN website
via [designboom]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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