Spray on Clothes

I found the following article, brought to us by the Gadget Lab, fascinating. Read on:

Tight-fitting T-shirts and hipster jeans would get even snugger if you could just spray them on.

That idea just got a little less far-fetched. A liquid mixture developed by Imperial College London and a company called Fabrican lets you spray clothes directly onto your body, using aerosol technology.

After the spray dries, it creates a thin layer of fabric that can be peeled off, washed and reworn.

The spray-on fabric consists of short fibers that are combined with polymers to bind them together and a solvent that delivers the fabric in liquid form. The solvent evaporates when the spray touches the surface.

The fabric is formed by cross-linking fibers, which cling to one another to create the garment, says Fabrican.

The spray-on fabric is pretty versatile. It can be created in many colors and and use different types of fibers ranging from natural to the synthetic, says the company.

The spray can be applied using a high-pressure spray gun or an aerosol can. The texture of the fabric changes according to the type of material — such as wool, linen or acrylic — and how the spray is layered on the body.

Fabrican says the technology is not just for fashion but can have some innovative use in medicine to layer bandages on the skin without disturbing the wound.

The technology is still in prototype stage, and some kinks still need to be worked out, such as the strong smell of solvent around the fabric. The researchers estimate that it will be at least a few years before it can be ready for commercial use.

Another challenge is to find a way to use the spray to create clothes that aren’t very snug. After all, with all the obesity in America, the sprayed-on look for clothes might not work for everyone.

What an amazing scientific breakthrough! It's all so intriguing. I think this technology could benefit the medical field greatly with the ability to do spray on bandages or even casts. How cool would that be?

But with all things there exists both a positive and a negative. I am glad the developers of this invention realize spray on clothes can be a big problem for Fat America. Or shall I say a small problem? Of course, there is still no way of keeping less than dainty people from buying the tight fitting Fabrican clothes, even if a looser alternative is developed. Goodness, there aren't any current laws to keep people from buying tight clothes and looking like sausages in assorted colorful casings!

I think the concept of Fabrican could be very beneficial in some regards, but also very scary. Fat or thin, I don't want to see the detail on every one's bodies. No thank you. It'll be interesting to see if this really takes off or not. I'll be anxiously awaiting, with my barf bag in hand.