designboom · Creativity & design

Anrealage's 'Skin' Collection Uses E-Ink for Color-Changing Dresses

For its Spring/Summer 2027 "Skin" collection, Anrealage, under designer Kunihiko Morinaga, explored clothing as a mutable outer layer, drawing parallels between biological skin and digital avatars.

The collection featured bodysuits with pixelated graphics and trompe-l’œil designs, alongside physical scales that detached from printed surfaces. Materials included Ultrasuede and washi, blending fabric, graphics, and engineered interfaces, inspired by chromatophores for dynamic visual changes.

SEKISAI's Effective Skin technology was used for 3D-printed scales that shifted color based on viewing angle, creating an animated effect without screens. This physical approach to changing appearance was amplified by ridged skirts.

Six evening dresses were adorned with 1,000 to 2,000 individually controlled e-ink scales. These scales changed color and patterns, then returned to gray, with AI-assisted mapping organizing the complex circuitry beneath.

Kyocera's FOREARTH textile-printing system, using water-based pigments, was also featured. This method reduces water consumption by combining printing and drying, achieving high-definition prints on various fabrics.

The collection concluded with LED-based digital camouflage, referencing Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix, symbolizing rebirth. This reinforced the idea of clothing as a dynamic 'third skin' capable of altering its visual identity.

Anrealage's "Skin" collection positions the garment itself as the device, moving beyond traditional wearable gadgets to create adaptive digital surfaces.

AI-samenvatting op basis van de bron.