Genevieve Dion, an Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design associate professor and director of the Shima Seiki Haute Technology Lab, says she envisions a fashion landscape that will one day be just as functional as it is beautiful.
"Wearable technology could be developed to send warnings on the battlefield, detecting chemical warfare, or you might want to be have your garment transform colors in the most beautiful way on the runway," Dion says.
The concept of "smart garments" has been a topic of research for Dion for the past three years. Now, with a groundbreaking $1 million agreement with Shima Seiki USA—a world leader in 3-D computerized knitting technology—Dion plans to further advance the field of wearable technology with a new state-of-the-art laboratory in the URBN Center building, which is currently under construction.
"The field of fashionable technology is vast and can go as far as the imagination can take you," Dion says. "It’s at the intersection of art, technology and design. It seems obvious that the field has great potential at Drexel."