Fashion for the Future

In this technologically driven society it is difficult to separate oneself from technology. As we are always connected to cell phones and Ipods, it becomes almost impossible “to locate ‘being’ outside of technology” (p. 284). Jaimie Smith-Windsor investigates this notion in her article, “A Breached Boundary” (2008), where she discusses her daughter, Quinn, who was born three and a half months premature and was placed in an incubator. Smith-Windsor describes this as a “posthuman, cyborg moment” as her daughter became a cyborg, part human and part machine during her time in the hospital (p. 278). It seems these “cyborg moments” are becoming more common in society (p. 278). It is necessary to briefly discuss how technology is creating these cyborg moments apart from health examples. This is apparent in fashion designer, Hussein Chalayan’s work as he combines fashion with technology.

Fashion is a realm always looking towards what is next, and designer, Hussein Chalayan, known for his intellectual and futuristic fashion shows, has breached the boundaries of what is fashion by incorporating technology into his clothes. From the hats that double as table lamps, the automatic rising hemlines to crystals embedded with lasers on clothing, Chalayan never fails to think outside the box. For Chalayan’s 2007 fall/winter collection, he created a set of video dresses. The dress was created from 15 000 LED lights that form changing video patterns across the dress. This combination of fashion and technology showcases the fusion of machine and body. Furthermore, fashion is often used as an identity tool. Here technology is used as an external device to represent identity as the dress has the ability to change patterns and colour of dress.

The video dresses do not quite make women cyborgs yet; it is merely an example of a “cyborg moment” (p. 278). This is because some argue that fashion is part of the creation of identity, thus wearing a Chalayan video dress makes them part machine and part human. By wearing technology on the body people are participating in their own cyborg moments. Like Quinn, whose body was altered for the machines that kept her alive, Chalayan’s video dresses redesign the body and mask the body (p. 280). It is no longer about the physical body, it is about the technology worn and the body becomes distorted. Chalayan’s work humanizes technology; it allows people to accept how it can be a part of fashion. This may be a movement towards a cyborg lifestyle, where we dress our bodies in technology and the physical body is breached and distorted by technology. There always will be an interface between technology and humans; this is merely another way it is entering our lives. It seems as technology enters realms that do not necessarily call for its need, like fashion, “being” outside of technology will become virtually impossible (p. 284).

Check out the following links:

Hussein Chalayan Website- http://www.husseinchalayan.com/

Fashion Television Clip on Chalayan’s Work- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJVtAWzLic