TCF’s The Future Is Now! is the meeting of fashion and tech. The series will be available to stream on YouTube from June 7.
Fashion can be so much more than a cyclical rotation in apparel based on seasons and trends. For the creatives and innovators that are a part of True Color Fashion’s The Future is Now! dialogues, fashion is an opportunity to incorporate the latest technology in order to enhance the lived experience of people with disabilities.
Japanese fashion brand Beta Post created a trench coat with a blurry print that represents how people, such as the free climber Fumiya Hamanoue (pictured), who are visually impaired, experience the world. Hamanoue also models Oton Glass — glasses that vocalize text to help the blind or those with low vision read.
Through in-depth conversations between the fashion and tech designers and models, you’ll learn more about the thought processes that go into their latest innovations, like fashionable hearing aids, prosthetic legs for children and the re-invention of the trench coat. Each one of them leverage creativity and technology to unlock a world of possibilities for people with disabilities.
Xiborg’s goal is to create blade prosthetics for all children, not just for those who aspire to be athletes.
The models do more than just showcase the tech-enhanced apparel — they demonstrate and discuss just why these innovations are necessary. The extensive line-up includes Masatane Muto, a DJ with ALS who plays music using his eyes, Pippi, an international runway model who developed hearing loss at the age of 16, Hirotada Ototake, a celebrated sports journalist and bestselling author who speaks candidly about having been born without limbs, and Fumiya Hamanoue, a visually impaired rock climber and Paralympian.
“I believe that not only can technology supplement bodily functions that are lost, it can in fact expand the limits of the body. Beyond complementation, technology can help us do more,” says Muto in a press release.
Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive creates adaptable apparel that is designed for all abilities and bodies.
Joining in the discussions are brands that are just as invested in developing adaptive fashion and wearables. The list includes Xiborg Inc. and SONY Computer Science Laboratory, both specializing in creating robotic enhanced prosthetics, Ontenna, a device that converts sound information into light and vibration, Tommy Hilfiger Adaptive, the adaptive fashion line of Tommy Hilfiger, and Kansai Yamamoto, the world-renowned label that created career-defining outfits for David Bowie and Elton John.
“I want to build a world in which not having the use of legs will not be an obstacle to running. I want to make running with a prosthetic leg a normal thing, not just for athletes or aspiring athletes, but for everyone,” says Ken Endo, founder of Xiborg Inc. and researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratories.
The Future is Now! dialogues, directed by renowned media artist and scientist Yoichi Ochiai, premieres on the official True Colors Festival Youtube channel on June 7. You can learn more about the event and line up at True Colors Festival website.
The Future is Now! is the third part of True Color Festival’s program that sits in the intersection of disabilities and fashion. The first instalment, a documentary titled Clothes in Conversation is available to view on Youtube.