It would be great if our clothes could just change their appearance throughout the day, depending on what we are doing. There are plenty of wearable devices out there already that respond and adapt to the user, such as futuristic Google Glass or crazy Talking Shoe. But none of them directly harness the physical energy of the wearer to alter their own look. Karma Chameleon is a unique research project, and collaboration between Canadian design studio XS Labs and researcher Maksim Skorobogatiy. Together they are working on a collection of garments that are constructed out of advanced composite fibers. The core innovation lies within a fibre itself, as its properties allow it to store the energy produced by the wearer throughout the day. As this energy is then released, the garments change their color or even light up.

This project is driven and inspired by the beauty within a human body, celebrating its natural movements. It also takes into account the constantly evolving field of fashion, aiming to create interactive textile garments that are not only technically advanced, but also beautiful. The artists have already developed a number of fabric and paper prototypes, as well as a few finished wearable pieces. One of them is a dress that collects kinetic energy and body tension that results from desk work. When the wearer finally leaves the office, the dress releases this energy with bursts of light. The idea that our clothes can be altered by what we do is exciting, and would hopefully be developed further in the future.