The new aesthetic of wearable medical devices

[gallery]There's an emerging trend focused on a new aesthetic of wearable medical devices that are beautiful, fashionable, functional, and ultimately celebrate an ailment rather than hide it. Afterall, if you have to wear one why make it look like a "medical device"? Here are few of my favorites that are paving the way toward aesthetically fashionable personal wellness: Bespoke Fairing™ are specialized coverings that surround an existing prosthetic leg, accurately recreating the body form through a process that uses three-dimensional scanning to capture the unique leg shape. But Fairings not only return the lost contour, they invite an expression of personality and individuality that has never before been possible.

Lanzavecchia + Wai design disability aids that become a stage to discuss, understand and cope with disability, illness and human frailty. Their designs create a bridge between the user and producer aiming to open the possibilities and new values that these vital body accessories can bestow upon the user.

Leah Heiss, in collaboration with Nanotechnology Victoria, has developed a range of jewelry with therapeutic properties, including functional insulin applicator jewelry for diabetics.

Image source Bespoke Fairing, Lanzavecchia + Wai, Leah Heiss

Paint with your feet using Nike+ GPS

[gallery]YesYesNo created Software that converts Nike+ GPS running patterns into works of art for the launch of the Nike Free Run+ 2 City Pack series called Nike + Paint With Your Feet. It's a great example of how connecting sensor data to software that visualizes the data in new ways can provide a truly magical experience. This project visualizes speed, consistency and ultimately the runner's unique running style that is printed as works of art on large poster-sized paper and the packaging itself.

Using the software the participants were able to play with the mapping and adjust the composition of their run which was then outputted as a high resolution print for them to take home. We also worked with the Innovation Lab at Nike to laser etch the runner's name, the distance they ran and their run path onto a custom fabricated shoe box, which contained a pair of the 'City Pack' shoes from their city of origin

Project info on YesYesNo. Images from YesYesno.

Lulin Ding dreams up digital makeup

[gallery]Industrial designer Lulin Ding is investigating digital makeup with a recent project that turns your eyeshadow into a glowing, illuminated splash of color. "I was interested in the way women wear eyeshadow and how most of the time you can only see the details when their eyes are closed. I sought to translate the attributes of eyeshadow into a digital medium. I made the initial decision to use the light to paint the eyelids when you blink and close your eye.” Continue reading on ecouterre.

Images and source from ecouterre.

Katy Perry Lights up the stage...again

[gallery] There's an abundance of light up stage-wear these days with another appearance on last night's American Idol show. Katy Perry enters the stage wearing a gorgeous and futuristic skin-tight suit covered in LEDs in her performance with Kanye West. Her costume was completely covered in lights and was quite mesmerising.

Illumination is definitely trending in the wearable space. And we're seeing some sneak into the mainstream market. I can't wait for more.

More at DailyMail. Images from DailyMail.

Funding a computational dress project

Kickstarter, a crowdfunding service, has been opening up doors for designers and artists to help fund their projects. One of the latest projects includes Mary Huang's computational couture called Continuum, which has already attracted 70 backers. Continuum is a user-generated fashion collection that is the "application of interactive technologies for bespoke design. In short, an app lets you draw a dress, turns it into a 3D model, and exports a cutting pattern to make the real dress, sized to your measurements." The result gives it a gorgeous, geometric aesthetic.

Go to Kickstarter and help her fund her project!

Continue reading on Kickstarter. Image source.

Living Clothes collection from Alice Ziccheddu

[gallery] In collaboration with argentinian 3D environment designer Carolina Travi, Alice Ziccheddu designed a collection of these gorgeous 3D digital garments called Living Clothes. There are quite a few explorations popping up that use software to generate 2D garment patterns from 3D models. The resulting aesthetic is incredibly beautiful and celebrates geometric forms.

I love how she first models the clothes in 3D Studio Max, software that was not intended for fashion design. She then incorporates sensors and microprocessors to make them interactive, sensing and reacting to their environment. I would love to see more.

Continue reading on SoftCircuit. Images from SoftCircuit.