BY: AYA TSINTZIRAS
Proof that fashion can go beyond the functional and become pretty magical: a London, U.K. design firm has created a cap made out of gemstones that tracks brain movement.
The Unseen, which calls itself “an exploration house” that merges performance, science, design and art, has teamed up with Swarovski and produced something truly cool. Resembling a 1920s flapper’s cap, it features more than 4, 000 black gemstones called spinels, used because their make-up is like that of bone.
The cap changes colour ranging from black to orange, red, green, blue and purple, according to what’s going on in the wearer’s brain. It’s been described as a contemporary mood ring, but it seems more futuristic, especially when put into the context of the ambitions of Lauren Bowker, The Unseen’s founder and principal designer who calls herself an alchemist. Bowker dreams of innovative fashion/technology/science concepts that can do something good for humanity: she hopes to someday design an item of clothing that will showcase when someone is suffering from an asthma attack.
There’s been a positive response to the cap because it allows for non-verbal communication, and there are plans to improve upon it using MRI technology.
As the design house explains on its website, “When worn the head piece becomes a reflection of the inner human thought.”
Previously, while studying at the Royal College of Art, Bowker came up with an ink called PdCl2 that changes colour when it comes into contact with polluted and non-polluted air. After several companies expressed interest, she has used that ink in many products, most notably in a line called “Air” that featured the ink in clothing that changed colour with wind and heat.