Textile Futures: Fashion, Design and Technology

Description

Textiles connect a variety of practices and traditions, ranging from the refined couture garments of Parisian fashion to the high-tech filaments strong enough to hoist a satellite into space. High-performance fabrics are being reconceived as immersive webs, structural networks and information exchanges, and their ability to interface with technology is changing how the human body is experienced and how the urban environment is built. Today, textiles reveal their capacity to transform our world more than any other material. Textile Futures highlights recent works from key practitioners and examines the changing role of textiles. Recent developments present new technical possibilities that are beginning to redefine textiles as a uniquely multidisciplinary field of innovation and research. This book is an important tool for any textile practitioner, fashion designer, architect, interior designer or student designer interested in following new developments in the field of textiles, seeking new sustainable sources, or just eager to discover new works that reveal the potency of textiles as an ultramaterial.

Bradley Quinn is an author, journalist and independent scholar with expertise in fashion, textiles and design. His books include Techno Fashion, The Fashion of Architecture, Chinese Style, Scandinavian Style and Mid-century Modern. As his survey of fashion and textile technology charts recent developments, Quinn explores the furthermost boundaries of what the new generation of textiles can achieve.

Interesting text supported by good photographs - this book makes you think again. * www.karenplatt.co.uk/reviews * 'Quinn's snappy journalist tone is accessible, avoiding the droning quality that makes much academic writing of otherwise important content so very dull to read.' * Crafts Magazine * Although this book ... is produced like a scientific publication, with detailed notes, a bibliography and an index in the appendix, it makes a smooth reading for lay people too, and can be recommended to anyone interested in the subject. * Textile Forum Magazine * Textile Futures will expand your view of what a textile is and what functions it can have. If you are generally fascinated with textiles, then you will likely read the book cover-to-cover upon receiving it ... The advantage of this book over other books that serve as directories of new material is that Quinn groups the textile materials by function and assesses their significance and forthcoming trends in the field, in addition to telling you "who", "what", "when" "where", and "how" ... this book would be a useful addition to the library of anyone whose field has traditionally or will in the future be shaped by textiles. Textile Futures is a nice collection of not only new textile materials, but also textile innovations the future may hold. * Worn Through * Although the subject is broad and far-reaching, Quinn expertly navigates the book's themes. It is refreshing that designers and researchers are given the opportunity to voice their own views. This subject might easily have fallen flat in the wrong hands but Quinn's essays can be read quite happily by expert or novice alike. * Embroidery *