WEARABLES When a Tech Garment Can Come In Handy

Name of the project Closed Loop Smart Year of establishment 2017 Country

The Netherlands PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF CLOSED LOOP SMART ATHLEISURE FASHION EDITOR: MOLLY BRIND’AMOUR INTERVIEW: SARA VOLPI

58 WEARME.FASHION utch fashion technologist Marina fashion project. “We have so much to win D Toeters has spent more than ten years in the fashion industry,” she pointed out. making smart garment prototypes for the This inclusive perspective can be ben- medical sector, as well as for eficial, she explained, “for us as human and workwear. Marina has now turned beings, and for the environment.” She her ambition to innovating everyday gar- also elaborated on how she and her col- ments, working with a team of technicians, laborators wanted to help alter the state fashion designers and business experts of fashion, to the benefit of the custom- to bring a smart, closed-loop athleisure er. After all, Marina believes that clothing collection to the market. should take care of its owner – and that in the current fashion climate, innovation is struggling to be heard. The journey that Marina shared with us highlights the challenges and complex is- sues that need to be addressed in order to Conceived with active working women in turn dreams into reality. But these issues mind, the collection, which is set to in- don’t seem to be stopping her. Perhaps clude four smart items and some comple- the biggest difficulty for Marina is actu- mentary pieces, addresses the inconve- ally her own ambition: “It doesn’t matter niences of stress. It is one of the most what is currently existing and what is not relevant issues today, as mental prob- yet, I’m always going towards these com- lems at work are now eclipsing physical plex things,” Marina explained, laughing. problems, Marina said, at least in The Netherlands, her home country. That’s when a tech garment can come in handy. Thanks to an interdisciplinary approach As conventional athleisure clothes, the she developed as a university student in items are conceived for women to wear Utrecht, the determined Dutch fashion during regular office work and to a yoga technologist learned early on the impor- session or a light training activity right af- tance of positive collaboration between terwards, without any need for an outfit designers and technologists, a concept change. The sensors embedded on the she fully embraced in her jobs as a free- upper back of the garments, tight to the lance prototyper and educator. For more skin – the optimal position for sensing than ten years, Marina created innova- on the female body – allow the wearer to tive garments for many different firms, in- learn more about her own breathing pat- cluding Philips, playing a designer role terns and heart rhythm, helping to pro- with technology companies and the role mote self-awareness. of a technologist with design companies. “When I started to work in this field in The A better conception of what goes on with- Netherlands, I was the only one doing it. in our own bodies, like how the body re- So, I was quite a pioneer,” Marina not- sponds to stressful environments and ed. For this reason, she began educating stress-relieving activities, can give peo- people, building a bridge not only be- ple the knowledge and opportunity to take tween institutions, but also between dif- action accordingly, whether it is simply ferent approaches of developing a com- changing behavior and mindset or seek- mon language. ing medical support. The choice is up to the person. “I really want these data to Marina’s continuous role-shifting helped be for personal use. It’s not my purpose,

PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF CLOSED LOOP SMART ATHLEISURE FASHION EDITOR: MOLLY BRIND’AMOUR INTERVIEW: SARA VOLPI boost her confidence to focus on her own nor interest, to store or sell them,” Marina

WEARME.FASHION 59 ments, which measure health parameters and inform the user about their personal data on a smartphone screen, via a wire- less connection to an app. “During the making of prototypes, we found out that sensors would move to the back and that female wearers would come into scope, so these key vital body signals are mea- sured at the back through a sensor tech- nology,” Marina explained. “There’s not at all a focus on innovation for women yet,” she added, speaking of one industry is- sue that was on her mind while develop- ing the technology. explained. The technological core of the project re- mains invisible, thus enhancing the more fashion-forward aspect of the garments. “We have been contacted by a lot of com- On the surface, nothing screams “tech- panies from different sectors that are in- nological toy;” rather, the clothes appeal terested in gathering data through our with the everyday feminine look that Ma- products,” she said, “but this is, actual- rina – a trained fashion designer herself ly, something quite scary. Especially for – and team member Melissa Bonvie, a de- those companies that want to arrange em- signer specializing in ultra-personalized ployments based on the employees’ data. fashion, want to confer. Though embed- Not to mention the ethical dimension that ded electronics components are invisible this behavior would involve. I’m certainly to the eye, when it comes to detaching going to do my best so that my technolo- and recovering these pieces, things get gy is used for the better, but I guess that more complicated. It is already challeng- at some point it will be out of my influ- ing enough to create, care for and recy- ence. That’s why I am making sure that cle ordinary garments, but more techno- these items are for the wearer, and that logically-savvy garments require an even we are not going to enable the data to more complex process. go out or be hacked through the wireless connection. It’s totally out of scope.” The printed sensors require metal dyes for conductivity and although they prove To develop the right technology for the to be completely skin-friendly and harm- realization of the closed-loop athleisure less to the wearer, the same does not collection, Marina got the support of the apply for the environment. “That’s why Holst Centre, an independent research we are putting this delamination and re- and development center specializing in cycling process into place,” Marina ex- technologies for wireless autonomous plained. “We don’t want to get those into sensors and flexible electronics, which the environment.” The process of delami- she has worked with since 2015. Mari- nation is the first step in closing the loop na teamed up with Margreet de Kok, an and enabling the tech components to be expert in the field, to create the subtle, easily removed from the garment. They printed sensors embedded in the gar- are recovered to be eventually recycled,

60 WEARME.FASHION so that they don’t get dispersed into the a small percentage of elastane to guar- environment. “That was the second thing antee adherence for better sensing and I was really concerned about,” she said, for performance requirements, the col- “also because I like being inspired by lective is looking for alternatives, since tech and by innovation, but always of elastane itself is difficult to recycle, and course for the better, not to make even solutions concerning that are still being more rubbish in our world.” researched.

Marina explained: “All this has to come Combining a designer approach with a into society and – in my opinion – to do so, technological push is what Marina even- we need a new business model that can tually wants to achieve, although she will embrace the complexity of these items, a admit that the fashion industry and its la- sort of service model. This one could deal bels are not yet ready for it. “So, for me, with how we are going to get along, how WEARSUSTAIN represents a huge oppor- tunity to take things further. I can final- we are going to work with guarantees, ly seduce tech companies to work in the how we are going to service them, to up- direction that I think is the most efficient date them, or to repair them. A whole new on the long run,” she added, referring to business model needs to be put in place, everyday garments and recyclability. In especially now that we are coming close order to develop a new business model, to the market, but we still don’t have an hopefully supported by a new mindset, appropriate market for our items.” Marina is also working in collaboration with Catherine Delevoye, from Tech- The concern for the sustainable outcome noport, a firm supporting innovative and of the project also extends to the fabrics technology-oriented companies. They and raw materials. Following the circular, aim to successfully engage in innovating closed loop perspective, mainly recycled everyday garments while using a circu- fibers have been selected, specifically re- lar perspective, setting a precedent for cycled polyamide, recycled nylon (ECO- many other companies to follow. NYL) from Carvico, and recycled cotton. Although the clothes currently contain

Electronic Measures components Female Size Printed Sensor 36/38 Technology, Resistance to PCB, BLE & Lipo weathering Durability Water, sweat and 25 washes washing machine safe Fabrics PA-EA Nylon Recycle Return for dissembly and recycling

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