November 2024

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 25 nov 2024

The perfect fit customized garment has only been achievable through bespoke tailoring but the cost is high and unaffordable to many. Now this might change as the textile industry is undergoing tranformation, thanks to the invention of active fibers and innovative knitting processes. Researchers and designers at MIT Self-Assembly Lab in association with Ministry of Supply has developed a 4D Knit Dress that combines several technologies to create personalized fit and style. Heat-activated yarns, computerized knitting, and robotic activation around each garment generates the sculpted fit. Prof. Skylar Tibbits of the Department of Architecture and founder of the Self-Assembly Lab at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), says, 'Everyone's body is different. Even if you wear the same size as another person, you're not actually the same...The 4D Knit Dress is the opposite of fast fashion...From a global standpoint, you don’t have tons of excess inventory because the dress is customized to your size.' Sasha MicKinlay, a recent graduate of MIT Department of Architecture is a textile designer and researcher at the Self-Assembly Lab, and helped produce the active yarns, created the concept design, developed the knitting technique, and programmed the lab's industrial knitting machine. She says, 'The styling is important, Most people focus on the size, but I think styling is what sets clothes apart. We're all evolving as people, and I think our style evolves as well. After fit, people focus on personal expression...I hope this research project helps people rethink or reevaluate their relationship with clothes. Right now when people purchase a piece of clothing it has only one ‘look.’ But, how exciting would it be to purchase one garment and reinvent it to change and evolve as you change or as the seasons or styles change...' Danny Griffin, another mamber of the team is a student of architecture who had experience in robotics in construction and translated the heat activation process into a programmable robotic procedure that would precisely control its application, says, 'When we apply heat, the fibers shorten, causing the textile to bunch up in a specific zone, effectively tightening the shape as if we're tailoring the garment, There was a lot of trial and error to figure out how to orient the robot and the heat gun...' Gihan Amarasiriwardena, co-founder and president of Ministry of Supply, says, 'Efficiently producing garments is a big challenge in the fashion industry. A lot of times you'll be guessing what a season's style is. Sometimes the style doesn't do well, or some sizes don’t sell out. They may get discounted very heavily or eventually they end up going to a landfill...If the demand is there, this is something we can create quicklyunlike the usual design and manufacturing process, which can take years.' Read on...

MIT News: Is this the future of fashion?
Authors: Maria Iacobo, Olivia Mintz