Fashion

Designer Wants To Turn Clothes Into Wearable Tech

by Lindsey Rose Black

Apple Watches are a huge step in wearable technology, but one designer is developing smart clothing that could save lives (while streaming music playlists). According to Wired, Dutch-born Borre Akkersdijk wants to turn our clothes into wearable technology. Akkersdijk is a wearable tech pioneer out to revolutionize smart fabric and its uses. Given the progress he's made, it may not be long before your hoodie is also your Wi-Fi router, air purifier, and map all at once.

Driven by his ultimate goal of creating clothing that "solves contextual problems ... [and] enables communication in an organic, smartphone-free way," Akkersdijk has already taken impressive steps. When given the opportunity to present at SXSW, he created a "BB.Suit," a 3D-onesie with a battery pack, Wi-Fi access spot, Google Maps GPS tracker, and crowdsourced playlist. Forget hot sundresses, this onesie is obviously the ideal attire for any music festival.

Then, presenting for Beijing Design Week, Akkersdijk let the location guide his design. He explained, "In Beijing, there was a really obvious thing that people had to deal with: smog and pollution." As a result, Akkersdijk developed a suit capable of cleaning up about 100 square feet of polluted air around the wearer, and also included a filter with the ability to read smog levels. It worked and Beijing swooned.

Neither of these designs will hit mass markets anytime soon, but Akkersdijk is excited for the prospects of new designs adapting to new locations. Perhaps his biggest hopeful design of all? He admitted, "I want to say hi to my girlfriend just by rubbing my sleeve." #Keeper

Image Credit: ByBorre/Instagram, ByBorre/Twitter