Textile designers and technologists at the forefront ofcontemporary textile and material research are paving theway for a new material future. Areas as diverse as electro-polymers, renewable energy, and nano-technology are beingexplored by textile-trained designers who are working acrossdisciplines to further many different areas of contemporaryresearch.

Stylesight looks at the most recent areas of research andinvestigation and how such advances could impact our futurematerial world.

A prototype developed by researchers at Nottingham TrentUniversity is paving the way for the future of wearabletechnology. Micro electronic devices smaller than a pinheadhave been integrated within the yarn itself, producing anelectronic textile which is tactile, flexible and machinewashable. Previous incarnations of wearable electronicsinvolved inserting electronic modules after the clothing hadbeen produced, resulting in inflexible materials and the devicehaving to be removed for washing.

The technology, known as Micro Electronic Textiles, couldalso be used in applications such as health and fitness,intelligent textiles for the military, and for creating malleablemood fabrics for fashion.

Reader and TFRC Deputy Director Carole Collet is currentlyresearching the potential overlap between textile design andsynthetic biology. Collet is investigating the hypothesis thatfuture biological manufacture of textiles could take place viathe cellular programming of morphogenesis (the biologicalprocess that causes an organism to develop its shape) inplant systems.

The Biolace project imagines plants which couldsimultaneously produce items such as fruit, lace samples, andanti-viral medicine, in a biological manufacturing future.

Similarly researching at the intersection of textiles and biologyis architecture-trained Marin Sawa, a second year PhDstudent at the TFRC. Sawa is exploring the possibilities ofalgal biotechnology as a possible future source of bio-energy,nutrients, and a filtering system for a polluted urbanenvironment.

Her current area of research is in conjunction with ImperialCollege London, investigating the ways in which the naturalprocess of photosynthesis could be a future energy source,and how this could be integrated into interior and architecturesettings in an aesthetically appealing way.

Also investigating an energy-scarce future is design duoLoop.pH. Comprising textile designer Rachel Wingfield andartist Mathias Gmachl, the agency specialize in creating“luminous, living environments” in public spaces, imaginingour future world. Last year saw the pair undertaking “EnergyFutures”, a large-scale commission for the Lille festivalFantastic 2012 in which they responded to the issues ofresource scarcity to produce a series of installations.

One such installation was the Algae Curtain, a network oftransparent tubes forming architectural drapes, suspended insunny windows. The tubes contain microscopic algae that canproduce huge amounts of oil through photosynthesis, whichcan be refined to produce renewable and sustainable bio-fuels.

Forming another section of the "Energy Futures" installationwere the large-scale TreeSkins and TreeLungs.

TreeSkins is a reptilian skin grafted and grown on to thebranches of trees. The resulting surface gently luminesced atnight, suggesting a bioengineered tree that could self-illuminate and potentially replace street lighting. The projectwas inspired by research at the University of Cambridgewhich has developed genetic tools to allow bioluminescenttraits to be easily transferred to an organism.

The duoʼs TreeLung installations comprised a woven mass ofelectronics and wood which intertwined to form a lung-likestructure. The TreeLungs breathed in and out, insynchronised movement with the fluctuating levels of carbonin the air.

Textile design and music are crossing paths and collaboratingin a more fundamental way. A recent project, “WeaveWaves”, brings together celebrated weave designer IsminiSamanidou and sound artist Scanner to work together in aseries of “chapters” throughout the month of March.

The collaborative project, in association with the CraftsCouncilʼs “Sound Matters: exploring sound through forms”touring exhibition, explores the visual and technicalsimilarities between the digital software they both use, andthe physicality of binary code used in both weaving andmusic.

Dr Jenny Tillotson of the Textile Futures Research Center atthe University of the Arts London has recently been awardeda Winston Churchill Fellowship to further her research intostress and sleep in the USA.

Tillotson was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 20 years agoand has been investigating the idea of smart “emotionalfashion.” Her research focuses on the potential benefits ofgarments which could release well-being scents to reducestress, improve sleep and relieve tension whenever stresslevels exceed a certain threshold.

A new wave of textile researchers are exploring thepossibilities afforded by electro-active polymers. InSeptember 2012 a group of textile students at the SwedishSchool of Textiles undertook a five day workshop to createtheir own electro-active polymers. The resulting materialswere harnessed within various lightweight textile systemsand attached to an electrical current to form animatedmoving textile structures.

Similarly, a group of students at the Swiss Federal Instituteof Technology Zurich have recently investigated theapplication of smart materials in an architectural context.Phototropia saw the group create a building model whichresponds to user presence via moving and illuminatingelements, and autonomously produces the entirety of itsrequired energy via sunlight.

Aurélie Mossé, a 4th year PHD student at the TextileFutures Research Center, has also been researching thepossibilities of kinetic textiles, in particular focusing on light-induced crystal technologies for textile design practices.Light responsive polymers provide a real alternative toelectronic-powered textiles, creating a more sensitive andresponsive material experience.

Mossé has been working in collaboration with the TechnicalUniversity of Eindhoven to test working textile compositesthat bend in UV light, with potential applications for homeinteriors.

Smart textile research is also moving into the field of nano-technology. Carole Collet of the Textile Futures ResearchCentre at the University of the Arts London is collaboratingwith architects Stanton William, Atelier Ten, Nanoforce andCentral St Martins College of Art and Design on a researchproject exploring the possibilities of retro-fitting the currentcampus building with nano materials to combat the effects ofclimate change in the year 2030 and beyond.

Many other textile research departments are also looking intothe application of nano-technology to textile construction,including Cornell University, Herriott Watt University, and theUniversity of Ghent.