Hidden

 

High Tea with Mrs Woo, (left) Hidden, cotton, silk, polyester, conductive thread and nylon ripstop, nichrome, copper, PVC, wire, NiMH rechargeable batteries, 115 x 45 x 3 cm, 2007; (right) detail. (© High Tea with Mrs Woo)

Hidden is a shirt-dress that combines fashion and functionality. Inspired by travel, its design explores the appealing idea of feminine travel-wear with the useful feature of built-in heating pockets. Invisible warmth has been achieved by seamlessly integrating electronics into the garment’s construction. At the current stage of the project, the soft switch and circuitry have been designed to be washable and the belt to be a removable, rechargeable battery pack. There is potential for the design to be entirely washable with newly available waterproofing innovations and technology.

The simple idea of "invisible warmth" was not easy to achieve. Although our aim was to use technology to create warmth, we found ourselves asking, Is it necessary to use electronics and create energy to do this? Pockets can be heated simply by the choice of any warm material, like fleece or wool. Also, existing pocket-warmer products could solve all our original design issues, being washable, detachable, convenient, invisible and reusable. Was it just a novelty, then, to create a pocket-warming dress with conductive textiles and electronics? Is it just another invention of useful uselessness?

High Tea with Mrs Woo (Rowena, Juliana and Angela Foong)
Australia
URL: www.highteawithmrswoo.com.au

Updated 5 November 2009