The Fashion of the Future:Scientists 1)Usher in a New Age of Hi-tech Textiles

科學崇尚嚴謹，時尚謳歌前衛。看似迥異不同的兩者，實則有不少交集。其中最顯著的是，科學和時尚都需要不斷去創新和突破。科學和時尚融合，共同演繹出精彩這樣的事例不勝枚舉，美國蘋果公司推出的一系列精巧的iPod產品就是科學與時尚完美結合的最好例證。

據了解，科學家們一直在進行“隱形衣”的研究，他日如果真的研制成功，那它亦可算是科學與時尚兩者之間的又一次火花碰撞——科幻小說里經常出現的神奇的“隱形衣”肯定會受到無數人的追捧。不過，對于未來十幾年的時尚熱點，科學家們已有自己的獨特見解，趕緊一起來看看!

——Maisie

As London recovers from the glamour and 2)glitz of its 25th annual 3)Fashion Week， the 4)haute couture 5)caravan moves on from Milan to Paris. By the end of the trip， we should have some idea of the trends that will be making their way from 6)catwalk to 7)high street in the early months of 2010. But if you want to know what the hot looks will be a decade further on， don’t ask a designer—talk to a scientist.

I’m not suggesting that the white lab coat is about to become the new little black dress. But new ideas are being developed that could change everything about what we wear. For example， designers such as Manel Torres are exploring the possibility of 8)spray-on clothing， and have successfully created9)prototypes. Torres’s 10)non-woven fabric can be made by spraying 11)benign chemical 12)formulations directly towards the body， distributing thousands of fibers across the wearer’s skin， which then bind together to form disposable garments.

If clothing does become a matter of “spray and go”， it will bring a new meaning to the expression “throwing an outfit on”. But it’s not just the process of creating the fabrics: textile research has begun to address the idea of making them responsive. Imagine if your clothing could alter the feeling of a room when you walk in， to suit your preferences. Science could provide outfits that both interact with and control the environment they are in. On a smaller scale， this could be in the form of clothing that heats or cools in response to temperature changes: such fabrics are being researched by the 13)University of Bath and 14)London College of Fashion， 15)engineered around 16)systems found in nature. In the longer term， 17)nanotechnology within fabrics could allow built interiors to become “smart” objects， allowing a room to adjust its smell， color， temperature， texture， taste and sounds to suit its inhabitants’ moods.

Fabrics implanted with nanotechnology could even help you get a date. Scientists and designers are researching clothing that has the capacity to monitor the body’s respiratory system， heartbeat and temperature controls and respond to alter your health or mood. Jenny Tillotson， a designer at 18)Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design， has been developing a “smart” second skin， which has interactive fragrance technology permanently built into the clothing: examples include clothing and jewellery that release scents such as 19)menthol， which could help alleviate medical problems including 20)asthma attacks. This innovation could also be used for more romantic purposes. In the future， your clothing could sense your body’s 21)indicators of physical attraction—such as increases in your temperature， heart rate and amount of sweat—and release hormones to attract the opposite sex.

That’s only the beginning， though. Within the decade， we could see stores selling shirts that turn us into 22)portable power stations. Scientists are already looking to develop energy-23)scavenging fabrics， with nanotechnology built in that uses the 24)kinetic energy from the wearer’s movements and converts it into electricity for powering electronic devices—a similar principle， in fact， to the kinetic watches sold today. Such systems would be potentially life-saving for hikers and soldiers， but in the wider market could power mobile phones， MP3 players and more. Beyond this， scientists are examining how energy-scavenging fabrics could convert low-frequency25)vibrations into electricity， using 26)nanowires entwined with the fabric’s fibers to avoid affecting the look of the clothing.

Beyond the advantages for the consumer， science fashion could also help save the planet， or at the least provide solutions to some of the ecological and sustainability issues in today’s society. An interesting example of this is Suzanne Lee’s “bio-couture” project， which is investigating the use of 27)bacterial-28)cellulose， grown in a laboratory， to produce clothing: instead of using fibers from plants or animals， we could grow a dress in a 29)vat of liquid.

This may all seem like a distant dream， but it is not so far away. Science has long affected the way we dress， from the gradual improvement of wool and cotton production to the introduction of artificial fibers. In fact， some of these textile innovations are appearing on the catwalk. In 2008， 30)Hussein Chalayan brought his exquisite 31)LED dress to the catwalks of Tokyo. This video dress displayed a 32)time-lapsed image of a rose opening up and closing， with an array of colors and light， made possible by 15，000 LEDs 33)embedded in the fabric. Chalayan has also displayed clothes that changed shape before the spectator’s eyes: zippers closing， cloth 34)bunching and 35)hemlines rising without human assistance， thanks to the use of micro-controllers， switches and motors.

In short， it is a 36)pivotal moment for textiles and Britain’s leading fashion science schools， such as those at Central Saint Martins and the 37)Royal College of Art， are leading the world in exciting design opportunities inspired by science. There is little doubt that these are exciting times for fashion and science.

第25屆倫敦時裝周這浮華璀璨的年度盛事才降下帷幕，高級女子時裝大蓬車便繼續前行，先是到米蘭，再駛向巴黎。此行結束之時，對于將從時尚天橋移師至高街的2010年春季時裝流行趨勢，我們大概也有點頭緒了。不過，如果你想了解十來年后的時尚熱點，別問設計師——要問科學家。

我并不是說，白色的實驗室工作服將變成新的“小黑裙”，成為時尚必備。我是說，正在形成的新思路能改變我們有關穿戴的一切。比如，設計師馬爾內·托雷斯正在探索“噴涂布”的可能性，而且已經成功地制作出了樣品。托雷斯設計的“非織布”是這樣的，直接在人體上噴涂良性化學制劑，無數纖維絲隨即形成，覆蓋在穿者的皮膚上，并結合形成一次性外衣。

如果衣服真的成了某種“一噴成形”的東西，那么我們平時講“披上件衣服”這個說法便從此有了新一層意味。……