Tag: Fashion

Analogue speakers have joined the digital world. Now, a startup in Chicago has developed a sensor which allows analogue watches to be converted into smartwatches. The 3mm thin disc is placed on the underside of the watch, attaching through special magnet-free micro-suction technology. Next, the sensor is connected to wearers’ smartphones via an app. Once in place, wearers can...

In the Netherlands, corn is a source of sustainable tiles. In California, however, a startup is using corn waste to create a super-absorbent and biodegradable material to replace the petrochemical liners in products like nappies and hygiene pads. The team developed special microorganisms to convert the corn’s sugar into a polymer, which can absorb as much liquid as materials...

AI can find sustainable materials for the textile industry. A startup in England, meanwhile, is focusing on the circular economy and the power of nature to create non-toxic colouration technology. Plants owe their dazzling colour to crystals present in their cell walls, which reflect light differently depending on how they are arranged. The team extracts these crystals from the...

Dialysis could soon be administered on the move. But movement remains an issue for some people with diabetes, owing to nerve problems in their feet. Enter a Swiss startup and its smart knee-high socks. Sensors embedded in the sole capture the pressure exerted by users while walking, and send the information to a miniature control unit integrated into the...

A venture capital firm is specifically backing LGBTQ+ teams, while an app focuses on the community’s mental health. For some time, a German non-profit organisation has been using wool from gay rams to promote its pro-LGBTQ+ message. A message that was recently given a global platform with financial help from a queer dating app: special wool pieces, whose designer...

Innovative and sustainable dyes for yarn are formed through fermentation using bacteria. Yet, in its search for a petroleum-free alternative for colourful textiles, a research team in South Korea created rainbow-coloured cellulose in a single process. Their recipe? Combining cultures from two optimised bacterial strains. Acetic acid bacteria belonging to the K. xylinus strain generated the cellulose, while E.coli...

Potato stems can be very becoming. So, too, stylish handbags. Enter a Belgian startup which is working with biotechnology to ensure no animal products are used in their manufacture. Using a bio-printer, microalgae biomass is transformed into a leather alternative. The texture of the material can be adjusted according to different parameters during the printing process, from crinkled to...

The search for new ways to recycle plastic is gathering pace. An English startup is taking the reverse approach and using multilayered neural networks to create new proteins for sustainable textiles. Focusing only on biodegradable fibres free of fossil fuels. The team, formed during a university research project, has developed a deep-learning AI which bases its search on criteria...