Functional Textiles

Inspired by the adaptive thermal regulation mechanism in pigeons, a team of researchers in Hong Kong has developed the first-of-its-kind intelligent soft robotic clothing for automatic temperature adaptation and thermal insulation in hot environments, offering superior personal protection and thermal comfort across a range of temperatures.

The first event created especially for functional fabrics for sports, fashion and work clothing, the two-day Performance Days fair in Munich is all set to open on 20 March. texfash.com in conversation with Chief Executive Officer Marco Weichert.  

Researchers at the RMIT University in Australia have used nanodiamonds to create smart textiles that can cool people down faster through a method called electrospinning. 

Recent advances in electroluminescent threads that can be woven or knitted have facilitated the integration of light-emitting textiles on a large scale to include vast arrays of lighting lines or pixels. A versatile tool that can include light-emitting textiles into fashionable and customised crafts directly onto consumer fabrics can be implemented to suit wide-ranging applications.

Designing clothing to mechanically block a mosquito bite is tough engineering and entomologists at Auburn University have crafted just that unique interlock knit that can disarm arthropods including the buzzing mosquito by preventing its fascicle, a repertoire of six serrated blades, microneedles, and a bevelled needle, from piercing and drawing blood.

A research project led by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya is looking to incorporate low-cost, flexible technology into everyday clothing, thereby enabling health to be measured in an unassisted and non-invasive manner.

A doctoral thesis at Sweden’s University of Boras is exploring the possibilities of sustainably printing enzymes on synthetic textiles and further develop advanced textiles for applications like antimicrobial, drug delivery and biosensing.

With emerging risks, the demands for functionality and performance from clothing will evolve continuously and spontaneously, and both technology-forward and market-back innovations will come up. Besides, the requirements of consumers are getting more and more diversified. All these issues will drive advances in R&D. Three renowned academicians at the ongoing International Conference on Functional Textiles and Clothing in New Delhi discuss at length.

As the third edition of the International Conference on Functional Clothing and Textiles gets under way in New Delhi today, texfash.com analyses the operating environment. It's a look beyond numbers.

The third edition of the International Conference on Functional Clothing and Textiles that gets under way on 10 February at New Delhi will be a confluence of some of the best research and development minds working to make fashion smart and user-friendly.