 About Fractal
Attaching stones and metals to the ears, and hanging necklaces around the throat and wrist developed a set of cultural and behavioral patterns that has barely changed in thousands of years. Materials gained value through their ability to emit or reflect light. Precious stones, gold, silver and platinum were sought after because they appeared to create light. This Probe has explored ways in which Plastics and synthetic materials can attain the qualities and value of the “noble materials” of conventional jewelry.
Fractal is ‘living jewelry’ as it has a range of behaviors that are stimulated by muscle tension and proximity. Performance sensing technologies enable integrated led light to detect changes in the wearers muscle tension and movement as well as other people in close proximity and respond by pulsing. Traditional LED lighting can be cold and uninviting but Fractal uses materials to diffuse, focus and filter the light, giving a warmer, soothing lighting experience.
Unlike a cut and sewn garment, Fractal is made using product materials and processes. This opens up the possibility of ‘Hybrid’ forms and new functionalities in the search for solutions in the spaces of traditional apparel functionality - thermal protection, structure and support, water resistance, providing modesty, flesh control, and the ever-changing style calendars.
Why ‘living jewelry’?
As with all Design Probes projects, Fractal has three main objectives; to challenge design, to explore new technical issues and to develop applications that question and confront cultural norms. With Fractal, in terms of design, Philips Design was interested in the fusion of apparel and jewelry, while technically the challenge was to achieve specific effects using hybrid materials and biometric sensing. The project aimed to create a body piece using jewelry to partly achieve the function of apparel that was manufactured using non-textile materials and non-apparel assembly methods.
Explorations such as these provide very valuable input for future business activities. The interaction between the human body, apparel and the near environment is seen as one of the next big challenges. That is why explorations into interactions between body and body, and body and space is essential knowledge building to help design products and experiences that people find considerably more enriching and appealing. |