Couture Collection Uses Wind Reactive Ink

Courtesy THE UNSEEN

A self-proclaimed “exploration house,” THE UNSEEN is a London-based collective of "anatomists, engineers, chemists, and cutters" that aims to fuse the worlds of science, art, design, and technology via their luxurious material experiments. This past London Fashion week, THE UNSEEN teamed up with Swarovski to debut Air, a capsule collection and interactive performance demonstrating wind reactive ink that changes color according to the varying air pressure around the individual. The couture offerings are quite remarkable—coats built from complex layers of fabric like a rippling, Technicolor armadillo shell that might serve as futuristic armor, camouflaging itself according to the surrounding air.

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The collective incorporates the technology into its materials, with the ink responding to up to seven environmental stimuli—heat, UV, pollution, moisture, chemicals, friction, and sound—each of which has a different effect on the fabric. Artist Lauren Bowker, who leads THE UNSEEN, says Air is “intended to reveal the otherwise unseen turbulence surrounding the human as it goes about its environment.” For those who like to indulge in daily wardrobe changes, this may be your one-stop shop.