TEXTILES.ORG
Skyscrape, a West Coast-based startup, is making clothing that naturally adapts to the temperature of both the wearer and the environment, the company says. The company has created yarns to create clothing that changes shape as temperatures change, becoming thicker as temperatures drop, providing more insulation and comfort to the wearer.
Active yarns in the fabric expand and contract and, in the process, bend, which increases or decreases the thickness of the fabric. According to the company, the fabric itself acts as a thermometer—without wires or sensors.
The team of researchers, designers, engineers, weavers and knitters has incorporated their knowledge gained from the small swatches woven by hand on a loom into a prototype jacket. The active fabric jacket prototype is designed as outerwear for the city. Skyscrape is finalizing designs for a 2020 product launch.
Skyscrape was born out of a vision to create clothing so thermally comfortable that it would impact the energy used in heating and cooling buildings.