Tag Archives: fabric

This wireless speaker concept looks like an eerie UFO made of fabric

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This speaker definitely sets itself apart not just from other speakers but from everything else in your room as well.

There is a growing trend these days to design or at least conceptualize speakers as something other than looking like a conventional speaker. Smart speakers try to blend in with the rest of the room decor to make them look more appealing as virtual hubs of smart homes. Others have tried to take that even further and disguised speakers either as everyday objects or more attractive decorative pieces that call your attention more because of their beauty than their functionality. This Bluetooth speaker is definitely part of the latter crowd and might even take things to the extreme, looking like nothing that would resemble a living room piece, yet, at the same time, is mesmerizing in its almost alien-like appearance.

Designers: Qi Liu, Shuang’er Wang

The designers say that the speaker’s form was meant to inspire images of floating and flying, and whether intentional or not, nothing calls to mind those thoughts better than a UFO. Although it’s not in the conventional saucer shape alien vessels are always presumed to take, the bulging top and bottom surfaces do resemble the same form from certain angles. The fact that the speaker is meant to be held up by a thin metal stand that makes it look like it is floating serves to reinforce that association.

Extraterrestrial references aside, there is indeed something visually intriguing about this Bluetooth speaker concept. It is mostly covered in a fabric-like material, save for the metallic filling sandwiched between the covers, giving it a more familiar and human flavor that contrasts with its alien shape. The soft material and soft curves are supposed to represent flowing water and the pleasant sound it makes. It also looks like the sine waves associated with sound, again perhaps an accidental detail that the designers didn’t intentionally think of.

Fabric material, especially one on display in such a lofty manner, is just begging to be touched, and the speaker concept actually encourages that. In fact, it’s the only way you can physically control the speaker, though it’s probably possible to control it remotely with a connected smartphone. A somatosensory camera on top recognizes gestures, like the direction of a swipe, and translates them into actions like changing the track or changing the volume.

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The design doesn’t make any mention of the technical aspects of a speaker, like where the speakers, tweeters, and woofers would be located to maximize the flow of sound. Judging by the way it hovers above a platform, one can presume that a downward-firing speaker for the bass, while mids and treble could escape from the gap between the fabric-covered sides, which could compress the sound a bit too much. Having a top-firing speaker would probably be inconvenient and uncomfortable for people trying to adjust the speaker’s settings without having to feel the vibrations hitting their hands.

In terms of trying to design a speaker that inspires images of floating and flying, this Bluetooth speaker concept definitely checks that box, especially with the stand that holds it up and prevents it from wobbling on a surface. That it also conjures up images of unidentified flying objects might have been an accident or something that only certain cultures or people will get. The design pays special attention to the look and the feel of the speaker to create a striking yet comforting product, but it also leaves some questions open regarding the technical details that will actually make it work as a speaker.

The post This wireless speaker concept looks like an eerie UFO made of fabric first appeared on Yanko Design.

Amazon just gave their Echo Dot speakers a fashion makeover along with designer Diane von Furstenberg

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It’s summertime, lockdowns are lifting, and people are dressing up and stepping out again. While the Echo Dot smart speaker really doesn’t have much of a social life, Amazon’s making sure the Echo Dot has its ‘hot girl summer’ too, with a fresh set of fabric designs in collaboration with fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.

Click Here to Pre-Order

Labeled as the ‘best-dressed Echo yet’, the speakers look less like a mysterious black orb and more colorful, fitting with your home’s decor. Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg introduced the three patterns that are very much evergreen styles, with palettes that add a fresh zing to your living space. Titled Midnight Kiss, Ikat, and Twigs, the Echo Dots turn the boring black sphere into an instant point-of-interest in the room.

There is, however, a catch. The speakers are a part of Amazon’s crowdfunding platform, Day 1 Editions. Amazon is inviting people to vote for their favorite designs by pre-ordering them, and if they hit their pre-order goal, the company will ship the product out to its customers. (Customers will only be charged if the product meets its pre-order goal)

The stylish Echo 4th Gen speakers are also available at a reduced price of $59.99 (as opposed to the original $99 price tag). Plus, as a part of the collaboration, Amazon also pledges to make a donation to Vital Voices – a non-profit chosen by Diane von Furstenberg which invests in women leaders tackling the world’s greatest challenges.

Designer: Diane von Furstenberg in collaboration with Amazon

Click Here to Pre-Order

Smart fabric can recognize the food you put on the table

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Wouldn’t it be helpful if a food tracking or recipe app could determine what you’re eating just by detecting what’s on your table? You might get your wish. Researchers at Microsoft and multiple universities have developed Capacitivo, a smart fabric s...

This disease-repelling jacket made from a copper textile could be the new future of clothing

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Don’t worry, it’s still surprisingly comfortable though…

Metal may not really sound like an obvious candidate when it comes to textile options for clothing, but the guys at Vollebak make a pretty good point when they say that the next 100 years won’t quite be like the last. The climate’s changing, the ice caps are melting, and if Bill Gates is right, COVID-19 may just be the proverbial tip of the iceberg. It doesn’t mean we’re going to completely surrender fabrics like cotton, wool, or denim entirely, but it just means we need to start looking into future-fabrics that do much more than clad us.

Behold the Full Metal Jacket… No really, this jacket from Vollebak is actually made from a germ-repelling metallic textile. Quite unlike those space-foil jackets that astronauts wear, the Full Metal Jacket actually uses a fabric with woven strands of copper, so it’s entirely breathable, flexible, and doesn’t make a crinkly sound when you move around. With as much as 11 kilometers of copper in each jacket, the apparel relies on copper’s innate ability to kill off any bacteria or viruses that it comes in contact with.

Making clothes from metal yarn is more complex than you’d think. Sourcing metal strands is expensive, has no real precedent in clothing beyond suits of armor, and there’s no established supply chain… but I honestly can’t think of a set of constraints that have ever stopped the guys at Vollebak from pushing boundaries. I mean they’ve literally made clothes from a grade of ceramic used on the International Space Station. The Full Metal Jacket comes with three separate layers, the first of which is made from a lacquered copper yarn which is woven on rapier weaving looms before being scoured, heat-set, dyed, and dried – a process that alone takes roughly a week. This process gives the jacket its grungy denim look, but as time passes, the lacquer wears away to reveal the true copper tones in certain places, giving the jacket a uniquely appealing patina that’s comparable to the aging on a leather jacket. The outer layer gives the jacket its germ-repelling properties while also allowing it to be wind and water-proof, while a middle layer made from a laminated copper fabric allows the jacket to respond uniquely to external temperature. This middle fabric, dubbed c_change®, has a weave-pattern that expands during the heat to allow your skin to breathe and release perspiration, and contract during the cold to trap body heat and keep you warm. An inner protective fleece lining makes the jacket comfortable to wear, giving your skin the familiar touch of a soft yarn.

The Full Metal Jacket comes with four large waterproof pockets on the outside and three chest pockets for your belongings. Designed to be your everyday jacket, it can be worn in any sort of weather outdoors, and remains as comfortable and soft to touch as any sort of synthetic outerwear would… in fact, you really can’t even see the copper strands unless under a microscope. However, unlike most outerwear, synthetic or not, it possesses the ability to completely obliterate any sort of microorganism that comes in contact with it, a feature that makes it a standout product in our uncertain future. This brand of standout innovation doesn’t come cheap though. Each jacket retails for $1095, but that can be attributed to the jacket’s revolutionary medical-grade fabric, and the fact that it’s assembled in Switzerland, Italy, and in Romania. Besides, you probably won’t need to wash it either, given its ability to resist water, stains, germs, and even odor particles. Just leave it out in the sun for a bit and it should be as good as new.

Designer: Vollebak

Researchers control a game of Tetris using a breathable wearable sleeve

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Researchers from North Carolina State University created an ultrathin, stretchable electronic material that is gas permeable, or breathable. They believe that it could be used for biomedical and wearable technologies, and to put it to the test, they...

Vollebak’s new 100% biodegradable T-Shirt is made from plants and algae!

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Another new month, another new experimental garment from the inimitable creative apparel powerhouse that is VolleBak… except this time they haven’t made a hoodie that glows, or can be worn on Mars, or is made from graphene or carbon fiber. This time they’ve created a garment that doesn’t consciously last thousands of years, but rather, turns into worm-food when you’re done wearing it. VolleBak’s bizzarely eco-friendly shirt uses a never-seen-before one-of-a-kind yarn made from pulped eucalyptus, spruce, and beech, along with a print that’s created using the world’s most abundant flora… algae!

“The only thing different about this T-shirt is that it grew in soil and water, and that’s where it’s designed to end up too. All you need to do is remember to compost it at the end of its life. Here it will biodegrade with them, turn into soil, and help new plants to grow,” explains Vollebak co-founder, Steve Tidball. The yarn is produced using wood-pulp from sustainably managed forests, while the green print on it is derived from algae grown in a bioreactor, before being passed through a filter and dried to form a powder that’s turned into ink. Since algae can’t survive outside water, the print technically isn’t ‘living’, and will fade over time like a patina, making each shirt unique. When you’re done wearing the shirt, just bury it underground and it completely biodegrades in 12 weeks, turning into compost that can then grow new trees. Sustainable fashion, y’all!

Designer: VolleBak

The North Face teases its most breathable waterproof gear yet

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As great as waterproof apparel is to keep you protected from bad weather, most jackets, pants and other gear tend to be too bulky or uncomfortable. That's a problem The North Face is well aware of, and it has come up with a new material that it belie...

This pure porcelain side-table gives the illusion of fabric

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A Gold Winner of the German Design Award this year, the Plisago side tables by Studio Besau-Marguerre showcase an unusual choice of material coupled with an aesthetic that isn’t common to the material either. It’s a confusingly attractive combination that makes your eyes question what they’re seeing before your hands touch them to confirm your guess, while you, all along, admire its strange beauty. The Plisago side tables come made from porcelain, a material that’s completely alien to the domain of furniture. The table also comes with a design that gives it the appearance of fabric. Multiple seams and folds adorn the side of the table, with their own imperfections, generated by a special parametric software. Its tactile, textile appearance gives it the feeling of tightly stretched, lightweight fabric, until you rest your fingers against it, only to feel the cold touch of porcelain. It seems unbelievable at first, but the designers at Studio Besau-Marguerre did manage to cast a porcelain model as big as this, something that requires technique, know-how, and a great degree of confidence and risk. The fact that the designers succeeded in pulling this off is an award-winning feat in itself, while the tense-fabric-like unconventional form of the Plisago certainly merits its own awards too!

Designer: Studio Besau-Marguerre for Fürstenberg

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