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Genevieve Dion

Director, Shima Seiki Haute Technology Laboratory

Genevieve Dion

Bio:

Genevieve Dion has an extensive background in bespoke clothing and industrial design. Her research focuses on identifying production methods that advance the field of wearable technology intended for a variety of high performance textiles applications. Following the signing of a groundbreaking, $1 million partnership agreement with Shima Seiki USA in 2012, Dion founded the Shima Seiki Haute Technology Laboratory, a state of the art knitting facility dedicated to advancing the field of smart textiles. In her Laboratory, Professor Dion, her collaborators in Drexel’s Colleges of Engineering, Information Science and Technology, and Nursing and Health Professions, and a multidisciplinary team of Drexel graduate and undergraduate students, explore of modular and flexible production methods, mass customization of wearable technology and the development of knitted electronic components into garments.

Dion is an Award-winning artist whose creations have history and presence. Each garment or accessory is constructed using the shibori technique, an Ancient Japanese craft involving folding, wrapping, clamping or stitching fabric, then adding or removing color to create swirling, sweeping and geometric patterns. Dion's work has quite a following among celebrities, including Tina Turner and Elvis Costello. Her evening bags and interior collections have been sold at Bergdorf Goodman in New York, and her scarves and interior designs have also been sold at Holt Renfrew in Canada as well as Barneys and Felissimo in New York. Her work on permanently pleated silk is in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert museum in London (2003) and the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco (2010).

Published Works

  • Patron, D., Kurzweg, T., Fontecchio, A. Dion, G., Dandekar, K. (Anticipated June 2014). Wireless Strain Sensor Through a Flexible Tag Antenna Employing Inductively-Coupled RFID Microchip. In Proceedings of the 15th Annual IEEE Wireless and Microwave Technology Conference. Tampa, FL.
  • Jost, K., Dion, G., Gogotsi, Y. (2014, February). Textile Energy Storage in Perspective. Journal of Materials Chemistry A. doi:10.1039/C4TA00203B
  • Jost, K., Stenger, D., Perez, C. R., McDonough, J. K., Lian, K., Gogotsi, Y., Dion, G. (2013). Knitted and screen printed carbon fiber textile-supercapacitors for applications in wearable electronics. Energy and Environmental Science, 6(9), 2698-2705. doi:10.1039/C3EE40515J
  • Dion, G. (2013). Garment device: challenges to fabrication of wearable technology. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Body Area Networks (pp. 97-102). Brussels, Belgium: ICST (Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering). doi:10.4108/icst.bodynets.2013.253707
  • Dion, G. (2013, May). Haute Tech Couture. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Digital Fashion. London, UK.
  • Jost, K., Perez, C. R., McDonough, J. K., Presser, V., Heon, M., Dion, G., Gogotsi, Y. (2011). Carbon Coated Textiles for Flexible Energy Storage in Smart Garments. Energy and Environmental Science, 4(12), 5060-5067. doi:10.1039/c1ee02421c

Oral Presentations

  • 3D fabrication of textile devices: from rapid prototyping to mass production. Invited speech at Wyss Institute, Harvard University, Boston, MA. (2014, April).
  • Garment Device. Invited talk at TEDx Philadelphia: The New Workshop of the World, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. (2014, March 28). News Coverage
  • Garment Device: Challenges to Fabrication of Wearable Technology. Invited speech at BodyNets 2013, 8th International Conference on Body Area Networks, Boston, MA. (2013, September).
  • 3D knitting. Invited speech at Utah State University, Logan, UT. (2013, August 2).
  • Haute Tech Couture: Digital Fabrication of Wearable Technology. Address at Digital Fashion 2013, 1st International Conference on Digital Fashion, London, UK. (2013, May).
  • Smart Textiles: Fashion That Responds. Panel presentation on wearable technology at EYEBEAM. (2013, May 1).
  • Prescription Manufacture: Customized Manufacturing of Wearable Technology For the Medical Industry. Presentation at AATCC International Conference, Charlotte, NC. (2012, March 21-23).
  • Fashionable Technology and 3D Methods of Production. Invited speech at 8th Annual Smart Fabrics Conference, Miami, FL. (2012, April 17-19).
  • Fashionable Technology and New Methods of Production. Speech at 8th International Shibori Symposium, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China. (2011, December 26-30).
  • Textiles for Boutique Clothing. Invited speech at INSPIRED DESIGN: Jacquard & Entrepreneurial Textiles Conference, UNC Center for Craft, Creativity and Design, Hendersonville, NC. (2009, January 9).
  • Fashion: Structures and Material. Invited panel discussion and artistic presentation at International Shibori Symposium, Musee du Quay Branly, Paris, France. (2008, November).