On September 15th CuteCircuit will be lecturing as part of the “How Smart are We?” symposium hosted by Design Plus at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

“This unique full day symposium highlights the emerging climate of ‘smartness’ encompassing intelligent textiles, textile technology, wearable technologies, and design. The event will match-make cutting-edge innovative development with on-the-pulse market opportunities, here in London and well beyond. Key issues to be addressed include; the real needs of consumers, the opportunities for brands and developers, the social and environmental impact of smartness”

Wow! We look forward to being there!

For complete details see the Design Plus page for “How Smart are We?”.

On the scenic coast of Skåne in Sweden overlooking the Baltic Sea a Swedish Couple became Husband and Wife wearing the first ever Interactive Wedding outfits!

Kiss Me!

The The ‘Kiss Me!’ gown and suit, designed by CuteCircuit specifically for the occasion, are made of pure Indian Silk in vibrant colors of emerald green and sapphire blue. The design of the garments was derived from the unique personality of the couple, environmentally friendly and smart, and included features such as being reversible and reconfigurable. And at the dramatic conclusion of the ceremony, when the happy couple kissed, two messages containing before unspoken love words were passed from one to the other (one from him to her, and one from her to him). The messages are shown only to the couple through a miniscule display integrated inside the trim of the clothes for absolute romantic-secrecy.

Based on the technology from the Secret Message Glove the clothes contain no hard wires, only soft comfortable smart fabrics. Additionally all the ‘intelligent parts’ run at low-power, reducing their size and energy consumption and all the components are lead and mercury free so that the happy couple can live longer and in a cleaner world.

Also in the interest of sustainability- because wedding clothes are often used only once and later sit gathering closet-dust, the clothes are transformable and can be worn many times again. The train of the gown is removable, so that it can be transformed into a regular skirt for other less formal occasions, and the skirt can be worn inside out for a change of color. The man’s jacket however does not have removable parts, but will be useful to command respect when worn in various future meetings aboard pirate ships.

You can also see pictures of the ceremony- Link

A humungous thank you goes to Livia and Magnus for the loan of their Kiss Me! outifts for this year’s SIGgraph Fashion Show. See Kiss Me! in action ;) at SIGGRAPH Fashion show in Boston next Monday the 31st of July!

CuteCircuit taught an intense hands-on introduction to Smart Textiles and Physical Computing at the Interface Research group at the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The workshop took place over the course of several days in the studios of Interface and focused specifically on integration techniques between the Smart Textiles and technology. The course demonstrated the latest design developments and soft circuits for making ’smart clothing’ truly wearable.

Over the course of the workshop, participants had the opportunity to build and experiment at every step of the development process, from assembling smart materials to programming the microchip, to soldering and stitching and finally testing the finished prototype - “The Secret Message Glove”!

The Secret Message Glove

“What is the secret message glove?” you ask? I’m glad you asked!! It is a very useful item for spies, secret agents and private eyes and it is used for passing secret messages at the touch of a finger! In a smoky crowded bar in Casablanca, you urgently need to pass a secret message to your compatriot friend. There are too many ears, and too many eyes - but shaking hands looks normal! So, you shake hands, the data is delivered from glove to glove, and you quietly disappear back into the mysterious Moroccan night, eluding the double agents.

That was the Hollywood scenario, but in reality: The Secret Message Glove is a fun and simple-to-construct project we invented specifically for the workshop that combines Smart Textiles and Physical Computing in a wearable application.

In the workshop the participants constructed their gloves to their own design by using recycled fabrics, and integrating Smart Materials. The technology was assembled and integrated, and finally the microprocessor was programmed to pass the right ’secret message’ of choice. By the end of the intense workshop many funny secret messages had been invented: from suggestions of what to have for dinner to useful tips on programming microprocessors!

For a visual overview of the workshop please view the image gallery page!

We are very pleased to announce that the first ever FutureFashionEvent will take place in Pisa, Italy. The FutureFashionEvent is focussed on wearable technology and smart textiles and is divided into a Conference, a FashionShow and an Exhibit.

How will we dress tomorrow? We will wear smart clothes, intelligent garments, that change color, shape, adapt to their environments, are expressive in new ways, and receive information at a distance over wireless networks, and mobile telecommunication technology.

The FutureFashion event has been created to give a glimpse into this exciting revolution happening in the world of fashion and technology. FutureFashionEvent features exciting designs of garments developed by international designers that research new materials and create technological clothing. The show will feature pieces by designers working in the field of Smart Textiles and Interactive Clothing from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Italy, creating a dialog between Art, Fashion, and Science through smart clothing and telecommunication.

Important Details:

Where: Stazione Leopolda, Piazza Guearrazzi, Pisa, Italy
When: 6pm, Saturday the 20th of May

For full details see the official website here.

CuteCircuit and Codice-Idee per la Cultura are excited to announce the 1st Future Fashion Event at the Viaggio Telecom 2006 in Pisa, Italy, made possible by Telecom Italia-Progetto Italia.

The Future Fashion Event will introduce the Viaggio Telecom 2006 audience to the most advanced and intriguing solutions for integrating fashion and technology. Wearable technologies known also as wearable computers, or wearables, have been used until now in the military and industrial fields. The Future Fashion Event will showcase how these technologies have evolved into elegant, emotive, beautiful and pleasant to wear garments, and will discuss how these can possibly improve and make us rethink our everyday life.

The Viaggio Telecom 2006 will be held from the 19th to the 21st of May in the Stazione Leopolda building in Pisa and aims to celebrate the cultural richness of the city and bring to it knowledge from the rest of the world.

The Viaggio Telecom 2006 is organized by Telecom Italia-Progetto Italia in cooperation with Codice-Idee per la Cultura to understand how science and technology affect many aspects of everyday life and culture. The intense three-day event will feature art installations, performances and conferences with artists and speakers coming from the United States, Italy, France and the United Kingdom.

The Future Fashion Event will be held on the 20th and 21st of May and is divided in 3 parts: a Conference, a Fashion Show and an Exhibit.

Submissions from research institutes, students, designers, and companies are all welcome!

CTIA Wireless Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The 2006 edition of the Fashion in Motion show, held on April 6th, featured CuteCircuit’s Hug Shirt along with Samsung and Motorola new phones and Kodak and Philips hottest wireless devices.

Read a selection of articles for this event from the press page!

We are very excited to announce the opening of our newest office, the showroom and design studio in Fashion Street in London.

Come visit! If you are going to be in London on Thursday the 23rd of March, please join us from 6 to 8 for the CuteCircuit Open House Aperitivo in lovely Fashion Street (#30) for a glass of nice Italian Wine! We’d love to see you!

For instructions on how to reach us please see the map on the Contact Page.

To see what the new studio looks like from the street see the image below:

The view from the window:

From February 13th to the 17th, CuteCircuit gave an intensive one week wearables workshop at AHO, the Oslo School of Architecture and Design.

In this workshop, participants imagined what the future of clothing might be like; drawing inspiration from cultural cues of today and the latest in new materials and technologies. The course ended with a fashion show presenting the designs developed during the week. Each design displayed an innovative take on how technology and new approaches to fashion combine to create innovative clothing possibilities.

The participants formed groups and each focused on a particular desire or need: the need for safety, the desire to control perception, the desire for personal space, the desire to express emotion. The resulting design solutions were colorful, exciting and very surprising! These interaction designers did a fantastic job!!!

On Thursday, February 16th Ryan and Francesca presented highlights of design work from CuteCircuit at Norsk Form Gallery for Oslo Fashion Week. The evening lecture demonstrated wearable technology, interactive fashion and discussed the history of wearable technology from its roots all the way up to the present-day and ended with a glimpse into future technologies and design possibilities.

Also on the lecture program was Suzanne Lee author of the book Fashioning the Future.

The event was sponsored by Grafill Interaktiv, Norsk Form, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, and the British Council.

Returning to the hub of Interaction Design in Northern Italy, Ryan and Francesca taught a one-day workshop on Intellectual Property for the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea at their Milan Campus. The workshop focused specifically on how IP issues affect designers, and particularly the inventive breed of interaction designers.

The workshop lasted all day and ended with the aperitivo in the swank studio. Nice to see traditions living on!

It was great to meet with this year’s graduating class and see that enthusiasm is still a central part of the experience there. See you all again at the end of year show!

Interaction-Ivrea rules!!