NEURO KNITTING - by Mar Canet and Varvara Guljajeva

Neuro Knitting is a project that uses an interface that is becoming very popular inside the new media scene: a brain waves reader. I copy the description from their website:

" We have plotted brainwave activity into a knitted pattern. Using a wearable, non-invasive EEG headset, we recorded users’ affective states while listening to Bach’s “Goldberg Variations”, concretely the aria and its first seven variations. The audio was about 10 minutes long and we downsampled each second of the signal coming from the 14 channels of the EEG device. Three main features were measured: relaxation, excitement, and cognitive load.  After recording, those features were converted into a knitting pattern. Hence, every stitch of a pattern corresponds to a unique brain state stimulated by the act of listening. It means the user’s affective response to music is captured every second and memorised in the knitted garment pattern."

This is a nice example on how art can be combined with science and technology. The best thing about it is that the artists created an open source tool that gives a new brain to your knitting machine and makes projects like this one accesible to everyone. The project is called Knitic. 

How technology is changing the fashion show

The release of new technologies present us with new formats to convey information.

Fashion designers are aware of those transformations and are changing the way they present their works to the audience. it is common to present a new collection in a catwalk where models wear the creations and walk for pleasure of the people.

One of the first fashion designer to introduce technology in a innovative way in his presentation was Alexander McQueen. His shows are famous for its production that always include something original. To present the summer 1999 collection he used some robots interacting with the model. The result was a dramatic performance.

After that, McQueen amazed his public in the fall/winter 2006 collection presentation using a holographic projection of the super model Kate Moss.

Recentlly Hussein Chalayan decided to present his new collection only using video projection.

Following this trendy, the brazilian brand Ellus (www.ellus.com.br) presented their collection using 3d projection technology.

I am excited to see new visual effects on the presentations. There are many technologies that could delivery a dramatic effect that were not explored so far. I could mention some like augmented reality, motion tracking and interactive feed back with the audience for instance.

I am wondering: Are the real models becoming obsoletes?is the body not enough to represent the complexity that characterize our society and is reflected on the fashion world?