Perfumed, Glowing Cloth

namtap writes "A story on NPR's All Things Considered discusses a light emitting fabric: The costumes onstage in Washington, D.C., might look a little brighter this opera season -- or at least, much more colorful. All Things Considered senior host Robert Siegel talks with Alberto Spiazzi, costume designer for Washington Opera's production of Aida, about luminex, a self-illuminating fabric." Makarand writes "A new technology will soon enable scents to be woven into fabrics. The technology, called Sensory Perception Technologies (SPT), will allow particles of moisturisers, deodorants and fragrances to be woven directly into fabrics. Scented tiny droplets contained inside miniature waterproof particles are woven into fabrics to be released upon activation by movement or touch. The fabrics are dry cleanable and machine washable."

Comments

Heat Change Clothes

[Cuprous]

Anyone remember the shirts that would change color with heat? I loved how the armpits would always be one color and the rest of the shirt would be the other.

Re:Heat Change Clothes

[browman]

Ah, yes! "Global Hypercolour"... I've still got one somewhere (unless my wife threw it away!) Fantastic 80's throwback which, unfortunately, stopped working after about 3 washes.

Luminex

[LMariachi]

$280/yd (and a 50 yard minimum order) seems a little steep for fabric with strands of optical fiber woven in -- you still have to hook up the light sources yourself, probably after you've cut your pattern. Seems most people capable of making anything more complicated than a tablecloth out of this stuff could probably weave their own.

Pretty, but expensive

[Anonymous Coward]

I emailed them about it. Here is the reply.

Thank you for your interest in Luminex.

We are Zuzka, the exclusive Distribution & Product Development team for Luminex in the US & Canada.

Yes, the optical fiber fabric is available for purchase!

The minimum is 50 yards per fabric type.

The fabric is woven with optical fiber (and is illuminated by LED's) into the following fabrics:

- Double sided LED polyester (sheer quality/ 7 colors) 58 "w $280/yd
- Lycra 58 "w $280/yd
- Super Velo (extra densely woven optical fibers) TK

LED colors available: white, blue, red, green, &yellow

Standard fabrics allow the LED color to be different every 18"

Double sided fabrics are capable of having two different colored LED's merging into the same fibers to create additional colors

Orders for quantity and for custom made sample products (i.e: pillows, jackets, etc.) can processed by phone and finished to your specs.

Yardage Prices do not include rechargeable 3.6v battery and recharging kit.

all SAMPLES must be purchased: $234-364/yd
battery: $24 per battery
recharger kit: $26 per recharger.

weaves available include 7 kinds of poly's: white, blue, silver, gold, red, green, cream & black

Delivery is currently 4-8 weeks

please do not hesitate to contact me for more info:

Christopher Berger
Zuzka for Fabricology Inc.
37 East 18th Street, Suite 10
New York, NY 10003

T 212. 260.1876
F 212. 260.7963

chris@zuzka.com
www.zuzka.com

What's next?

[Anonymous Coward]

How about glowing bed sheets and blankets? That would make for some really amazing sex.

I think it stinks

[demo9orgon]

I'm not alone when I say that artificial smells and designer perfumes in fabrics is a terrible idea. There are many people who get migraine-level headaches when Ms. Thang and whatever she's doused herself with come wafting through the office. If I thought (vomiting,trepanation,pre-frontal lobotomy,ECT) would help get rid of the headache and nausea, I'd do it. If they think they smell that bad, why don't they stay home. I read somwhere that this is one of the major complaints people have against their fellow employees...and we're not talking bad body odor. Some perfumes can make you violently ill.

Hopefully this crap will never see mass-market.

Re:I think it stinks

[Anonymous Coward]

My wife is allergic to almost any smell. If we go somewhere nice (a play, a church, a restaurant) and we're too close to a woman wearing perfume, she starts sneezing and getting headaches. What's more, there are times she'll get headaches from perfumes that I can't even smell and I'm right next to her. Scented clothing would drive her up the wall. There could be whole departments of stores that she couldn't go into.

I don't have a problem with various smells, but judging by her reaction, I'd sooner see the removal of scents rather than its increase.

Great

[Kanasta]

now I'll have to buy new clothes when the perfume runs out?

Try elwire

[gad_zuki!]

Why not try electroluminscent wire? I bought a bunch a couple years ago for a quick and dirty Tron halloween outfit. Not only was it a smashing sucess which got me more free drinks than I could handle thus creating a drunken smashed Tron, but I'm sure my night visibility was amazing. I didn't get run over once!

Even the cheapest elwire can be bought with an sequencer so you could build a simple circuit and make your clothes tell drivers if you intend to turn right or left, like giant body sized blinkers.

New Novelty Scent Fabric Lines

[MisterMook]

I can just see the novelty market for this...

Tweed sweaters with that "old man" smell

Bras for your teenage daughter that smell like gun smoke.

Skirts for your ex-wife that smell like female dogs in heat, but only to other dogs. Now an excuse to get her a present this year!

Bed sheets that always smell like you've washed them.

Car upolstery that always smells new.

Child clothes that smell like bubblegum.

It would be more fun...

[zackbar]

if instead of merely being luminous, clothing could be programmed to be transparent.

Floating patches of transparency on women's outfits would be all the rage. Obviously, within reason.