Vaia Gkerliotou

Strategic design thinking around the making, life-cycle and aestetic issues of a product and consumer engagement with new materials and better technologies to improve health and well-being based on biomimetic.

Future textiles for fashion industry. Biological materials which we harvest from use as a textile. Works with the microorganisms designing and creating living surfaces derived from algae. The use of micro-algae develop new sustainable materials combining textile techniques with living systems. The project develops adaptive and changing textiles in changing conditions in light, temperature, noise and pollutions, touch sensitive and made by you. Inherent properties of materials to increase air flow and shade and to retract in cooler conditions. Such shape memmory alloys – metals that deform and then naturally return to their original shape, eg: a material that is rigid can become flexible under prescibed conditions. Pieces that transform from flat fabric into 3dimensional shells when it rains. Textiles can capture and process smell memories, reduce stress and enhance sleep with multi-sensory textiles. Natural dyes that change colour in reaction to the PH levels of rain water. Also, Sophisticated sensor tecnohology and nanotechnologies are possible ways to enhance- and even replace- some of our sensory perception in the future. Focusing on social sustainability Vaia’s Project ‘Fashioning Senses’’ uses the work to create a fair trade production system, supporting a local workforce who learned new skills and received fair pay.

Sustainable thinking to small and large-scale decisions is driving to future innovation and new ways of doing business. Design thinking around the making, life cycle and aestetic issues of a product. A low-tech approach to create a bio-responsive materials is my goal. The project merge art, science and techonoly. Increasing people’s awareness of the quality of their environment, and urging them to take charge of their surroundings. Influencial areas of innovation are nanotechnology and the increasing use of biomimetic principles, which are driving experimentation with smart materials away from electronic – based sensors and mechanical movements towards autonomous responses-that is, ‘living’ systems. The project creates interactive textiles capable of offering support through healing, wellness, enhancing scents.