emotional clothing by iga węglińska responds to body changes and stimulates mindfulness

the innovative project seeks to open a new discussion on the role and function of clothing.

Iga Weglinska edited by thomai tsimpou November 26, 2021 3 min

emotional clothing to stimulate mindfulness

multidisciplinary designer iga węglińska introduces ‘emotional clothing’, a garment collection comprised of two polysensory silhouettes using biofeedback, and signaling psycho-physiological changes taking place in the user’s body. made of intelligent materials, and responding to elements like body temperature, galvanic skin response, heart rate, or proprioception, the designs are supposed to stimulate cognitive involvement and mindfulness – a ‘sense of taking part’.

emotional clothing sensory prosthesis garment by iga weglinska 1 — the polysensory silhouettes using biofeedback and sensory substitution

all images courtesy of mila łapko

a bridge between advanced technology and

what the skin knows

the designs act as a sensory prosthesis for the human body, using unidirectional and bidirectional feedback, while becoming a starting point for a new discussion on the role and function of clothing at the same time. the materials used constitute a kind of bridge between what our skin knows and the world of advanced technology.

the design proposal is an integral part of a PhD dissertation titled ‘human–object interaction. textiles – new technologies’ defended by iga węglińska (find more here) at the industrial design department academy of fine arts in krakow. the aim of the doctoral dissertation was to show that the use of smart materials in clothing plays a key role in the development of the user’s ‘sense of taking part’ and can be used to broaden the experience of clothing. the design proposal of the thesis was based on the theory of extended mind by andy clark and david chalmers, which assumes that material objects take over some part of our thinking and can be treated as external elements used in the process of perception. the project was preceded by a cognitive, sociological, empirical, and pilot material research on a homogeneous group of participants.

emotional clothing sensory prosthesis garment by iga weglinska 2 — the silhouette reacts for wearer’s hear rate and body temperature

emotional clothing sensory prosthesis garment by iga weglinska 3 — the silhouette reacts for wearer’s galvanic skin response and proprioception

emotional clothing sensory prosthesis garment by iga weglinska 4

emotional clothing sensory prosthesis garment by iga weglinska 5

emotional clothing sensory prosthesis garment by iga weglinska 12

a view on reaction for wearer's heart rate and body temperature the project was preceded by a cognitive, sociological, empirical and pilot material research on a homogeneous group of participants the observation of participants and the responses they provided during the interaction with the samples, influenced the design assumptions the research on samples was based on interaction with smart textiles reacting on stimuli like: touch, body temperature, galvanic skin response, heart rate, body temperature, gestures

project info:

name: emotional clothing – sensory prosthesis garment
designer: iga węglińska

photography: mila łapko
models: martyna P (MANGO models), emilia D (gaga models)

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.