
Dress is constructed entirely from datacentre cables
A fashion designer in London has worked with datacentre operator Equinix to create a dress entirely from data cables.
Unlike smart wearable materials, the dress uses non-functioning Cat 5 Ethernet cables and optical fibre cables from an Equinix datacentre, crocheted into a dress and secured with washers and bolts.
“The garment tells two stories,” said Raynor. “The first is the immediate character which is the personification of the internet and the second is one of repurposing and how we can all think about unconventional materials. It creates an interesting contrast of the internet and data which we perceive as so futuristic and then these almost historical techniques such as basket weaving and crochet that feel from a different time.”
Weaving is an increasingly important process for smart fibres in wearables and for low cost displays.
- Graphene fibres for smart clothes
- Silk turns textiles into charging stations
- Large woven display for smart homes and the IoT
“The design pays homage to the physicality of the vital infrastructure that makes up the internet. Rather than some sort of weird magic or unexplainable force that just happens to work, it’s a physical, intricate network of cables, traversing land and sea and creating physical connections housed in data centres worldwide,” said Bruce Owen, President EMEA, Equinix.
Raynor has previously designed clothing for Lady Gaga, Chappell Roan, Ellie Goulding and Rita Ora to supermodels Ashley Graham, Paloma Elsesser, Precious Lee and Adut Akech.
