Couture in Orbit – space for smart wearable solutions
ESA and the Science Museum in London are working with five leading fashion schools around Europe to design clothes for the space age with their ‘Couture in Orbit’ project.
Between 2014 and 2016, five ESA astronauts from the UK, France, Italy, Denmark and Germany are visiting the International Space Station. To mark the missions, five European fashion schools from the astronauts’ home countries are designing and developing clothes that are both desirable and practical, while incorporating high-tech innovations.
ESA’s Technology Transfer Program and industry sponsors are supporting the project by giving the students access to innovative materials and space flight technologies.
From embedded sensors to heating units and super-absorbent textiles, the challenge is to predict the future of fashion in designs that are desirable and practical, while showcasing their national cultures.
The space and fashion industries often influence each other. ESA innovations were recently used in thermal underwear for the manufacturer Björn Borg. A motorcycle-clothing manufacturer, Dainese, tailormade ESA’s Skinsuit to alleviate astronaut back problems.
Wearable technologies were provided by a number of technical sponsers including two ESA Business Incubation Centre companies, JOHAN Sport from ESA BIC Noordwijk and iNanoEnergy from ESA BIC Portugal, and fabric sponsors contributed with advanced materials and knowhow. ESA technology brokers, Umbilical Design from Sweden and D’Appolonia from Italy, are among the national corporate sponsors to provide technical advice to the fashion schools.
Want to know more?
Read The Future in Fashion and Couture in Orbit article and The Technical and Fabric Sponsers article. For the full coverage, visit the Couture in Orbit website.
