WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES – EXPERIENCE THE WORLD OF SMART FASHION AT THIS YEAR’S DESIGNBLOK EXHIBITION

Prague, 24 October 2018 – With support from T-Mobile, the Fashion Design Studio at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (AAAD) in Prague will again exhibit at this year’s jubilee 20^th edition of the Designblok international festival of design and fashion. The students have worked on the redesign of smart clothes allowing real-time ECG scanning. Combining design and technology, this project aims to break down barriers and enable patients to feel “normal”, including, for instance, during heart monitoring. Visitors can learn about the ECG Smart Fashion project at the Superstudio premises in the right wing of the Palace of Industry at the Exhibition Grounds in Prague’s Holešovice district. 

Combination of fashion and technology in medicine

Imagine clothes that not only look good but also consistently monitor your heart, take ECG readings and, if necessary, send the data to your doctor. Thanks to real-time ECG scanning, ordinary apparel becomes medically useful in people’s lives by, for example, protecting them against heart attack. Students at the Fashion Design Studio have worked in teams on several assignments, cooperating with a number of experts in innovations and new technologies – for instance from the Czech Technical University in Prague, Slovak Research Institute for Textile Chemistry Chemitex and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the University of Žilina. Under the supervision of MgA. Pavel Ivančic, they redesigned smart clothes that work well with new technologies, have an added technological function and are also trendy and pleasant to wear.

As part of its long-term cooperation with AAAD, T-Mobile has supported its various projects and studios. Teaming up with the Fashion Design Studio headed by Pavel Ivančic, which focuses on smart fashion, seemed to be a logical partnership this year. “All of the students’ works are still in the conceptual phase but they are already showing us the possibilities of current technologies as well as other interesting paths that these innovations can follow,” says Martina Kemrová, spokesperson at T-Mobile, adding: “We are happy to be able to support talented young people through this project, who can thus bring their ideas to life.” 

Office, sports and casual wear

Measuring devices can be utterly discreet: they are part of the clothing, placed in pockets or integrated in the cut and hidden, for example, in the seams. They are thus not visible to others, saving patients from enduring the curious gaze of people around them. At the same time, they replace such devices as Holters, which impair patients’ overall mobility. In future, sports sets that monitor their users’ physical condition while practising sports could become available, as could business wear that monitors patients in high-stress moments at work or when travelling. Smart clothes are intended for people who do not want to compromise their comfort, but want to live an active and full-fledged life without limitations. 

The students have worked on six categories of ECG Smart Fashion:

-          15+ girl (trendy vest for young cardiac patients)

-          Sportswear (for people with a dynamic lifestyle who like sports fashion)

-          Active senior citizens (for active elderly people who like loose clothing made of durable materials)

-          40-60 man (for men with heart problems that need to be monitored constantly)

-          40+ man (basic garments for various daily activities)

-          Parent + Child (for pre-school children) 

More information can be found and the fashion designs can be viewed here.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.