We Will Become Silhouettes
Elena Corchero’s LOSTVALUES “explores the beauty and melancholy of craft to challenge the aesthetics and function of smart fabrics and this way emphasize the emotional value of keepsakes, garments and toys.” Her latest effort, We Will Become Silhouettes, fuses traditional craft with high technologies like solar panels and LED lights. From her website:
The pieces are charged while used outdoors during the day. When brought indoors in the evening they transform into a decorative ambient light display for the home, powered only by energy stored earlier.
Electronic components like solar cells, resistors, and LEDs are integrated directly into the textile and wired together into working circuits using conductive thread. Organic prints and embroidery motifs recall endangered birds.
So far she’s tried it with accessories like a parasol and a handheld fan. With these items, she is targeting a clientele she recognizes is not well represented in the wearable computing market: women. Further applause for her success in not hiding technology, but disguising it in a “beautiful and stylistic way.”
