Iga Węglińska | Emotional Clothing

Iga Weglinska's fashion tech design – two silhouettes presented on models

EMOTIONAL CLOTHING
– SENSORY PROTHESIS GARMENTS

The Emotional clothing consists of two polysensory silhouettes using the phenomenon of biofeedback, signaling psycho-physiological changes taking place in the user's body, like: body temperature, galvanic skin response, heart rate or proprioception. The intelligent materials used in them are supposed to stimulate cognitive involvement and mindfulness – a "sense of taking part". The designs act as a sensory prosthesis using unidirectional and bidirectional feedback, at the same time becoming a starting point for a new discussion on the role and function of clothing. The materials used in the design constitute a kind of bridge between what our skin knows and the world of advanced technology.

The design proposal is an integral part a PhD dissertation "Human–object interaction Textiles – new technologies" defended by Iga Węglińska at the Industrial Design Department Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. The aim of the doctoral dissertation was to show that the use of smart materials in clothing plays a key role in the development of the user's "sense of taking part" and can be used to broaden the experience of clothing. The design proposal of the doctoral thesis was based on the theory of extended mind by Andy Clark and David Chalmers, which assumes that material objects take over some part of our thinking and can be treated as external elements used in the process of perception.

The project was preceded by a cognitive, sociological, empirical and pilot material research on a homogeneous group of participants. The research was made in a collaboration with psychologist, neurocognitivist, chemist, technical engineer and programmer. It was focused on the topic of human-object interactions – its goal was to measure a level of development of the user’s sense of taking part. It was based on interaction between participants and samples of smart materials created especially for the research purposes. The results of a pilot studies can be implemented on other objects or industries like medical sector, sport, army. It shows a development potential in the field of non-verbal communication.

KEY WORDS:
fashion-tech, smart materials, biofeedback, sense of taking part, sensory substitution

COLLABORATORS:
Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Jagiellonian University in Krakow
Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Krakow University of Technology
Design Department, Academy of Art in Stettin

SUPERVISOR:
Marek Liskiewicz PhD, ASP Prof.
Industrial Design Faculty, Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow (PL)

CREDITS:
photo: MILA ŁAPKO
models: Emilia D. – GAGA models, Martyna P. – MANGO MODELS
mua: Paula Ewa Krawczyk