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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nEmotional Clothing responds to the wearer\u2019s changes in stress levels<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Iga W\u0119gli\u0144ska, a Polish multidisciplinary designer and researcher specialized in human\u2013garment interactions and working in the fields of fashion and product design with a focus on new technologies and materials, created a collection called \u2018The Emotional Clothing Collection\u2019. This collection consists of two tops that change colour or flash with lights to help the wearer identify when they are feeling stressed or anxious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Emotional Clothing collection, which formed W\u0119gli\u0144ska\u2019s doctoral dissertation at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, is designed to \u201cbroaden the experience of clothing\u201d. \u201cEmotional Clothing is made of polysensory garments intended to expand the limits of experiencing clothing through experiences based on sensory substitution,\u201d W\u0119gli\u0144ska said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the brain takes information from one sense, such as touch, and turns it into the perception of another sense, such as sight, it is known as sensory substitution. It is widely used to assist people who are vision-impaired use their sense of touch to read braille.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe collection is designed to stimulate our sense of taking part and force us to focus more on our bodies, for example by calming our breath to reduce a stress level,\u201d the designer added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n W\u0119gli\u0144ska\u2019s garments react to the wearer\u2019s heart rate, temperature and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) via sensors, which, in turn, trigger visual lighting changes. Stress usually causes a rise in temperature and a faster heartbeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the long-sleeved tops has a sleek turtleneck and is slim-fitting. It changes color from dark to translucent in response to body temperature and heart rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lights incorporated into the sides of the top flash to the beat of the wearer\u2019s heart via information gathered from sensors attached to the wearer\u2019s fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other top has a puffy, balloon-like silhouette and features a string of pink LED lights above the chest. It measures stress levels by sensing changes in sweat levels on the wearer\u2019s skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sensor sends a signal from the sweat to a white light that runs along the arms and around the neck. When the colour changes from warm to cold, it symbolises the need to slow your breath and calm down. A conductive thread is used to sew conductive materials in the tops together. This thread carries an electrical current, which allows light to travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n W\u0119gli\u0144ska hopes that the tops could help people who become stressed or anxious to calm down or practice mindfulness after seeing the item change color. This is similar to biofeedback\u200a\u2014\u200aa therapeutic technique that aims to help people understand their bodies better with sensors that measure key bodily functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe intelligent materials used in the tops are supposed to stimulate cognitive involvement and mindfulness,\u201d the designer said. \u201cBy interacting with the pieces, the wearer can not only be informed about their own body changes, but they can help us to focus more about the intimate relation of clothing, control the body reactions or even set goals to achieve by playing with smart material reactions like color changes or movement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The designer experimented with many smart materials, evaluating the input and output signals to identify the one that performed best, with the help of a chemist and a programmer. She employed a combination of materials, including neoprene, thermoplastic polyester or polyurethane leather, and polylactic plastic, in the end. The resulting tops are meant to mimic the behavior of human skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAny relations to the human skin in my designs aimed to underline the prosthetic nature of the works, as well as emphasize the intimate relationship with the object,\u201d she explained. \u201cSkin\u200a\u2014\u200alike my concept\u200a\u2014\u200areacts to psychophysiological changes in the human body: it sweats, blushes and it has goosebumps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To test the sensors, W\u0119gli\u0144ska recruited a group of study participants to wear the clothes. She measured their levels of hedonic arousal using smart materials samples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Laura Deschl\u200a\u2014\u200aSocial Designer and Artistic Researcher with a background in Fashion & Textiles\u200a\u2014\u200ahas developed The Healing Imprint, a therapeutic garment that looks like activewear but is made to help heal trauma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The project was developed to experiment to see if combining acupressure\u200a\u2014\u200aa non-invasive technique originating in traditional Chinese medicine\u200a\u2014\u200awith yoga-like movement may help people recover from psychological trauma. Deschl produced custom-knit garments with a grid stitched into them that allows small massage balls to be inserted and moved onto specific acupressure points on the body, feet, hands and head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The garments\u2019 aesthetic is similar to activewear or leisurewear, and a full set includes a bodysuit, gloves, socks and a pillow. The concept is to combine acupressure with a yoga-inspired embodied movement practice that allows a person\u2019s bodyweight to increase pressure at the targeted \u201cacu-points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deschl based The Healing Imprint on research that indicates how physical therapies can be integrated into psychotherapy to assist patients healing from psychological trauma, a technique known as integrative therapy. She was particularly inspired by the work of Bessel van der Kolk, whose 2014 book, The Body Keeps the Score documents the effects of trauma and an array of methods that can be used to treat it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was inspired by how he is incorporating \u2018untypical\u2019 ways of healing trauma, such as through yoga, tapping and community,\u201d Deschl said. \u201cMy research also encompassed certain other thinkers, but their take on healing trauma through the body is somehow similar,\u201d she continued. \u201cOne thing is certain: they are all convinced that the body needs to play a major role in overcoming the imprint left on the body caused by a traumatic event.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as trauma-related anxiety and depression, have all been treated with acupressure. The acupressure in The Healing Imprint clothing attempts to assist the wearer access buried memories or emotions, while the trauma-sensitive yoga practice will help the user reflect on those experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deschl said that a person\u2019s body and their emotions are \u201ctwo elements that are crucial for one\u2019s sense of self, but are often highly impaired as a result of trauma\u201d. \u201cMany people with histories of trauma and neglect experience an extreme disconnection from their body due to a deep divide between the sense of self and sensory experiences,\u201d said Deschl. \u201cThe goal of this project is to help patients train embodiment and thus bring them closer to their bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of The Healing Imprint garment sets is knitted from predominantly merino wool plated with an elastic yarn, which was produced specifically for the project. A second set with meridian patterns is made from a recycled knitted athleisure fabric, while the massage balls are gemstones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deschl worked with a psycho-motor therapist to enable test sessions with trauma patients, and the Healing Imprint contains a series of pictures showing where to position the balls for certain symptoms. \u201cThe garment is not only an interface for an individual to access embodied knowledge and self-awareness, but also represents how design can converge fields such as science, business, medicine, psychiatry and textile-making,\u201d said Deschl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commissioned by and in close collaboration with the , Taskforce Fashion started in 2018, as a unique, multidisciplinary and research-based collaboration between fashion platforms FASHIONCLASH, M-ODE and State of Fashion. In co-creation with Dutch design talent and in dialogue with the (inter)national fashion field and other disciplines, the three platforms investigate the transformative role of fashion in relation to social issues with various experiments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the autumn of 2020, Taskforce Fashion started an experiment called \u2018Residency for Responsible Fashion\u2019. During this experiment, the designers were challenged to question the current reality and the fashion system, in order to eventually offer possible solutions for the future. Through field trips, desktop research and in-depth conversations with experts from the field, the teams investigated the social-cultural challenges of the cities Tilburg, Maastricht and Rotterdam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n COVID-19 and it restraints challenged the designers to find new ways of presenting their design- through-research. Rather than merging the different team projects into one presentation, each team created their own local platform. This way, the projects could be presented in a meaningful place with a close relation to the research. From an exhibition space to a primary school class: unconventional and creative solutions were thought of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every team had a different focus point. Team Maastricht focused on solutions that support Positive Health, which is defined as having a resilient and meaningful life. Physical, psychological, and spiritual functioning, as well as quality of life, social participation, and day-to-day functioning, will be examined. What role may clothes design have in improving one\u2019s well-being? The social participation of children and teenagers in society will be given special consideration. They hosted a day full of workshops with the children of the \u2018Manjefiek Malberg school.\u2019 The designers encouraged the kids to communicate about their feelings in a creative and engaging way through a series of fashion-related workshops. What do they wear to reflect the emotions of \u2018awe,\u2019 \u2018anger,\u2019 and \u2018happiness\u2019? What memories are evoked by some of their t-shirts, and how might we trade<\/p>\n\n\n\n them? The workshops were built around these and many other questions. In addition, the group developed a manifesto on the intertwined nature of social and emotional growth and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The results were presented at TextileMuseum, Tilburg, in the last couple of months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Combining craft and technological details gives garments a perceived value far greater than \u2018just a piece of clothing that represents your identity\u2019. Seeing clothes as a representation of emotional wellbeing could help people better understand their own feelings and feelings of others. These emotional clothing pieces become a representation of self-expression and understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raising the spirits of a generation who is growing up in a world where they feel powerless, full of bad news, restrictions, and anxiety, and dealing with this on a mental health level, these innovations and understanding of emotional wellbeing would give a deeper sense of personal expressionism. An emerging wave of creative consciousness, a new dimension of expression identity and the true self, inspired by the need of reflection and healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.betteryou.ai\/what-is-emotional-well-being\/<\/a> https:\/\/dergipark.org.tr\/tr\/download\/article-file\/543644<\/a> https:\/\/taskforcefashion.nl<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/textielmuseum.nl\/en\/tentoonstellingen\/panoramadeck-presentation-hosted-by-taskforce-<\/a> fashion\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2021\/12\/12\/iga-weglinska-emotional-clothing-stress-body-changes\/<\/a> https:\/\/www.dezeen.com\/2021\/10\/28\/design-integrative-therapy-laura-deschl-trauma-garments\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We all know that clothing is, in a sense, an identification tool that can function in determining the symbolic boundaries between people. Fashion and clothing are [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":41464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,55,121,1289],"tags":[1859,309,292,204,668,3356,215,259,3248,847,3350,2489,199,3351,3349,536,998,3352,3345,2920,3355,3347,3346,3353,3348,3354,203],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/scienceofthetime.com\/dlc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/iga-weglinska-emotional-clothing-fashion-design_dezeen_2364_col_7-1704x2556-1-1160x1740.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*2li15RA0RC2JBLY7gz3PFA.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTrauma healing garment by Laura Deschl combine design and integrative therapy.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*sUsBHtrYAoVNXr5wl35JRw.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTaskforce Fashion\u200a\u2014\u200aResidency for Responsible Fashion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/cdn-images-1.medium.com\/max\/800\/1*njUeSh_p5QFxNeK7VOROaQ.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat can we expect from the future?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Sources<\/h4>\n\n\n\n