Emotional Technology

Synergy between fashion and tech have been on the rise for quite some time now, but as we’ve been exploring in class, any gaps which remain are quickly becoming a thing of the past. One of the next movements which seems to be surfacing is the addition of human interaction and emotion to this equation.

Studio Roosegaarde and Anouk Wipprecht have recently unveiled an experiment called Intimacy 2.0 which highlights fashion that can react to levels of arousal. Made of “efoils” and leather, the garment is translucent and hazey upon first look, but as the wearer’s heart rate increases (one indicator of excitement or arousal) it literally flashes into moments of complete transparency.

Video 1. INTIMACY 2.0 by Daan Roosegaarde – interactive fashion and dresses

The garment itself, as well as the idea, most likely won’t see the Saks or Neiman’s floor any time soon, but this idea of emotions being literally worn on the external self (through translation of tech) has some deeper level take-aways.

Besides the mood ring movement decades ago, we are not accustomed to having these internal and very personal realities available for anyone and everyone to see. As the world around us changes, we too make adjustments and mold ourselves to better fit our particular set of circumstances. This then moves me to wonder, what shifts in human emotions might become of a situation like this? For example, when a child cries due to sadness or anger, if that child then experiences negative repercussions due to the crying (from family let’s say), then over time the child will most likely adjust those outward reactions due to the situation the child found itself in.

What does this mean that the human experience of emotion could evolve into if these emotions were available to others around you without regard to the will of the emotion-bearer? Would this force humans to suppress these emotions? Would we be ABLE to suppress these emotions? If so, what mental health repercussions could this mean?

All valid curiosities in my mind, but all questions which I cannot personally answer without experiencing.

Our very near future never ceases to interest me. Explorations and experiences such as these are the spice to life in my opinion.