Sport and proper nutrition make a person he althier and significantly prolong his life. What if the clothes of the future had the same effect? Just imagine: a tangible benefit to physical fitness simply because we put on a T-shirt or sneakers. Next, we will talk about what the smart clothing industry is, in what direction it is moving, what its benefits are for each person and what the clothing of the future will be like.
Look beyond the horizon
You will be surprised, but smartphones, watches and bracelets that track the number of steps taken per day are only a small part of what awaits us in the future. The clothes of the future or smart clothes that are being developed today will make your hair stand on end in anticipation of what will be available to everyone in the near future. Modern clothes made of metamaterials will also impress you.
Imagine that in 10 years your clothes and shoes will be much smarter than modern smartphones and watches. Impressive? Of course! And at the same time with delight it becomes a little scary.
Clothes make the man?
As long as the clothes sway peacefully on the clothesline, there is nothing special about them. But as soon as we put it on, various difficulties begin. Even the most practical clothes wrinkle, rustle loudly, crumble to pieces in the rain, fade in the sun, get dirty easily and are difficult to clean, instantly become covered with pellets, it can be uncomfortable or hot.
About materials
These problems are as old as the world. People are used to believing that perfect clothing does not exist in nature. About two thousand years ago, the entire population wore overalls made of prickly and rough fabric of a delicate corpse color, which was sewn with thick threads. Today, clothes and shoes are made from nylon, elastomers like lycra, polyester fibers, and other synthetic materials. This can be considered the main achievement of the fashion industry of the 20th century.
What have we achieved? Our new clothes began to make a longer journey from the hanger to the trash. But is it more useful? Clothing still only protects from the weather and covers the body - the same thing she did in the time of the pharaohs.
There are things over which time has no power. For example, a space marine's boat would look the same as a Roman legionary's spoon. But clothes are far from the ideal of functionality. Yes, you can sew reflective tapes on it or increase the number of pockets. But why hasn't high-tech touched clothing, something we wear much more often than smartphones?
Metamaterials
The clothes of the future will be made from metamaterials. What it is? itmaterials created artificially, and such a strange name due to the fact that they have special characteristics that ordinary fabrics do not have.
Clothing companies strive to make their products more beautiful and more functional: metamaterials often have unusual optical, acoustic or electromagnetic properties. The simplest example is the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter. If such a cape goes on sale, it will be created from metamaterials. In addition, universal clothing that would make its wearer invisible is the dream of many scientists, and attempts to create it have been made for a long time. It is impossible not to notice that certain successes have already been achieved in this matter.
Andrea de Falco, for example, was able to create a metaflex - this is the name of a material that, by refracting the light falling on it, makes the object that is wrapped in it imperceptible and even almost invisible. However, we are more interested in the use of such materials in the sports industry, because it is during sports that our body works to the limit of its own capabilities, and it is extremely important to receive the maximum amount of information about its condition.
Columbia has invented a technology that will make sure that metamaterials are the future of humanity. The concept of this technology lies in a special material, which contains aluminum, which prevents heat from escaping and returns it back to the owner. Incredibly, this technology actually works.
Smart clothes: are we from the future?
Ifmetamaterials will not be available to ordinary people soon, then smart clothes are available today. For example, the miCoach clothing series from Adidas, the largest sportswear and footwear brand. It includes many wardrobe items: from a T-shirt to a bra. What is the feature? In the built-in heart rate sensor that reads the heartbeat of the wearer and then synchronizes with one of the gadgets to store statistics.
Polyester is the main component of the material of modern clothing. It uses a lot of unusual technologies. One of the most interesting is Techfit. What is special about her? And the fact that it allows you to make the human body 5% stronger! How? Just science and no magic. The laws of physics have also come in handy in the fashion industry: due to the rigid material, much stronger compression is achieved. At the same time, the stretchable elements of the suit act like springs and help a person perform physical exercises. For example, if you lowered the bar to the chest, then you will not squeeze it all alone - your T-shirt will help you.
Another technology from the Adidas brand, which is actively used now, is called Climacool. Its characteristic feature is that it promotes the removal of sweat and air circulation. Sweat is absorbed into clothing due to special breathable materials, after which it is brought to the surface of the fabric, where it evaporates. This technology is being actively implemented in those items of clothing that touch the most sweaty areas of the human body, for example, int-shirts, tank tops and sneakers.
Modern technologies of the fashion industry
What can be considered the pinnacle of the smart clothing industry? For example, presented in 2015 T-shirts from Hexoskin. Their characteristic feature is a built-in sensor that reads indicators such as activity level, breathing rate, calories burned, sleep efficiency, movement speed and, of course, heartbeat.
We live in an age of advanced high technology. What yesterday was high technology, the latest achievement of science and technology, today is already an inverted page of history. Modern technologies penetrate into all spheres of human life: education, career, communication and even fashion. It would not be surprising if in a couple of years such an eminent brand as, for example, Apple, will be engaged in the production of high-tech clothing of the new generation.
Modern fashion designers are experimenting with a variety of innovative materials today. Until recently, polyester was considered a revolutionary material. And today, all this has long been and is very actively used in the production of clothing and footwear.
"Clothes of the future" that can be bought in the present
- Japanese textile company has invented a ventilation system for warm outerwear. So fashionistas can stay true to their style even on the hottest days of summer.
- Company Adidas has released "smart sneakers" - a fundamentally new footwear for sports. A microchip is embedded in their sole, which determines the typesurface with which the sole interacts. Depending on it, the chip automatically adjusts the stiffness of the sole, which provides the most optimal grip and cushioning.
- British company Bodymetrics and the most famous jeans manufacturer Serfontaine Jeans have teamed up to create the perfect denim pants. The light scanner captures the exact parameters of the client's figure. This procedure lasts no longer than eight seconds. Next, the client chooses the style and color of the jeans, and two weeks later the perfect pants arrive in the mail. Such pleasure will cost a pretty penny - $ 530 - that's twice as expensive as an ordinary pair of jeans from Serfontaine.
- Burton has released a jacket model with a built-in mini-disk player. The operation of the player is facilitated by the remote control, which is built into the sleeve. An interesting feature is that both the player and the remote control are placed in the jacket so that they are protected not only from shock when dropped, but also from dust and moisture getting into them.
Near future: what can we expect?
Adjustable sleeves. US scientists say they have succeeded in creating a material that can change its length depending on the temperature of the surrounding world. Clothing companies will certainly be interested in new technology, because it can be applied in the production of textiles. Sweatshirts and sweatshirts made of this material will turn into T-shirts in hot weather, and become sweatshirts again when it gets colder.
Spray dress. Susan Lee in one of herinterview stated that in the near future, the spray dress will become more popular. According to her, it is necessary to spray a special material from a spray can around him, after which a person will be enveloped in a cloud of non-fibrous matter, from which it will be possible to fashion a dress for himself.
Children's clothing of the future
What will be the children's clothing in the future, you can already imagine now. Scientists will invent pajamas that will sing lullabies to babies, and microchip diapers that will inform parents that it's time to change the diaper. And as long as all this has not yet been invented, to everyone's happiness, we will raise our children with tenderness and love, rejoicing in their smiles and first words.
Smart clothes are our near future. We go off our feet in search of ways to extend our lives, without even thinking that our clothes can be one of the tools for this.
