If you follow the many banners and flags to Futurotextiel and you find yourself in a place that looks pretty much deserted, don’t be discouraged, you did not miss the exhibition, it does not happen to be closed on that very day, it’s just the way it look. The entrance is under the “exteriors” sign, yes the door with no markings on it.
It would have been incalculable more interesting/appropriate/etc to hold it in such a pavilion as shown inside. Or at least I as expecting long flowing banners or any form of textile on the outside, like the ones in the Grote Markt , which were a brilliant form a promotion.
Pretty much a design and tech exhibition, in a very cold room. Must be a secret way to promote those self heating clothing. To bad you couldn’t actually give those self heaving battery powered tights a test run.
Despite the cold, don’t put your gloves on just yet, unless they’re fingerless, as Futurotextiel is a very hands on exhibition, literally. And do use that, just to know how clothing made out of corn, bamboo or basalt feel.
If you’re thinking textile= clothing, you’re in for a treat, as the use of textiles is apparently limitless. Which brings me to one of my favourite pieces, the Recyclable Car, with tires based on, again, corn fibbers. The car is the work of a UK University and reaches 140km/hour and looks much like a 50 F1 car.
My all time favourite piece is MidiMinuit, a interactive dress with embedded led that react to music, and to test it, you have a synth, the rest is up to your musical skills.
I had no idea of the range of fabrics and their uses that can be viewed at the expo, in medicine and welfare alone… .Clothes to make you feel better, to make you healthier, clothes that thell you when you’re not well, the range was so big that I do have to generalize, despite that it may sound like a cliché.
And I do wonder how fashion would look if these innovations were seriously taken into account, if the fashion industry accentuated function half as much as it accentuates form
