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Fashion designers are constantly seeking to push boundaries. In this roundup, we have collected innovative garments beautifully and meticulously engineered to forever change the way we dress.

Working at the intersection of fashion and technology, Dutch designer Anouk Wipprecht has created a dress with mind-controlled digital eyes that move depending on the wearer’s brain activity. Named ScreenDress, the 3D-printed garment comes with digital eyeballs with integrated chipsets that are connected to the electroencephalogram sensor – a new 4-channel BCI headset called Unicorn Headband engineered with Medical Engineering GmbH.

 

Developed in collaboration with NeuroTech company g.tec, the wearable device employs machine learning to estimate and record the cognitive load and activity of the wearer in real-time. Produced using PTC’s Onshape design software and printed with HP Inc., the garment features six circular displays extending its sculpted neckpiece. As the mental workload increases, each eye’s iris and pupil dilate wider.

For its Autumn Winter 2023 collection, Japanese fashion brand Anrealage has used futuristic photochromic materials that change color when exposed to natural sunlight. The 50s-inspired shapes and silhouettes of the garments first appeared in all-white fabrics including faux fur, velvet, lace, knit, jacquard and satin, but when exposed to the beams of UV light they revealed colourful patterns in checkerboard, plaid and polka dots. When no longer exposed to UV rays, the garments returned to their original colour.

The colour-changing technique was achieved by constructing clothing using in-house made experimental photosensitive fabrics and materials that change colour when exposed to direct sunlight and proximity of UV rays. As the intensity of natural sunlight is ever-changing, the colours on the garments are constantly shifting and evolving.

The all-white collection included satin dresses with oversized crochet collars, faux fur garments and cocoon-shaped coats constructed with no front or back, that transformed to reveal colourful finishes.

The concept of the collapsible dress by Evgeniia Shalimova takes its origins inside the theater walls. Drawing the inspiration from how the form and the structure of the hooped dresses work in motion, the architect and costume designer has created a unique collapsible dress that blends a hooped skirt with a turtleneck fabricated with polyamide fiber, thus combining theater, fashion and architecture.

The stretchable and moisture absorbing fabric endows the piece with total freedom of movement and provides the wearer with the comfort of active streetwear. Besides, while the garment was tested on the dancers during the course of a six month tour, it was washed many times without any damage to the structure.

The designer has also developed a special 1-inch-wide bag to easily store the collapsible dress.