13.6 The Shirt You Spray On

Thursday, November 13, 2014

This article discusses  a liquid mixture made of cotton fibers that you can spray on yourself instead of putting on a t-shirt. According to author Tamara Cohen, we could soon be spraying ourselves into everything from T-shirts, dresses, and trousers to swimwear and hats. 

Fabrican, which is essentially fabric in an aerosol can, was created by Spanish designer Dr. Manel Torres who spent 10 years working on his invention. It consists of cotton fibers, polymers (plastics which hold them together), and solvents which keep it in liquid form. In a video, a model can be seen spraying a white and blue t-shirt on himself in under 15 minutes. After it dries, the garment can be taken off, washed, and re-worn. The material can be dissolved and used again to make something new or repair old designs. 

Dr. Torres created Fabrican to be able to create clothes instantly and cheaply, "I really wanted to make a futuristic, seamless, quick, and comfortable material". He also emphasized the influence science and technology can have on fashion, "to show science and technology can help fashion designers, I ended up returning to the principles of the earliest textiles such as felt, which were also produced by taking fibers and finding a way of binding them together without having to weave or stitch". 

Fabrican still has a few years to hit shelves as Dr. Torres is working on new ways to create more forgiving shapes. He is also trying to minimize the distinct whiff of solvent about the garments.


This aerosol technology has been around for a while. One of the popular aerosol technologies is a spray-on latex body sprays which functions similar to spray-on t-shirt. It does not contain cotton fibers but a form of rubber inside the can. Because of its healthy materials (no petroleum contained in the spray) to apply to human body, latex technology is adopted to form the spray-on condoms. 



Another popular aerosol technology is a spray-on hair. This invention, which came out in the 80's, has helped a lot of men and women struggle with losing hairs and regaining self-confidence.




Development of aerosol technology inspires not only fashion and cosmetic industries but also medical industry. The basic concept of its skin-screening is perfect for covering wounds and dressing bandages and cast. Transdermal drug delivery, which is a system of administering drugs through patches, can combine with the aerosol technology and enable patient to heal injuries quicker. Also, patients would be able to choose a spray that matches their skin tone to hide the patch. Otherwise, they are able to choose bright fun colors that entertain self and decrease stress level. The numbers of usage of spray-on fabric will increase as its flexible needs and technological developments.


  

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