Symposium Hi-Tex

Together with Textielcommissie Nederland, we are organizing the Hi-Tex symposium on Friday, March 22. Several high-profile speakers, including Troy Nachtigall, Lecturer Fashion Research & Technology at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam and Fashion Tech Designer Marina Toeters, will talk about the latest developments in smart, interactive textiles based on their own research and practice. In our living environment, more and more things are connected, they are smart, interactive and respond to our needs or to their environment. But what about fashion and textiles?

Speakers

Troy Nachtigall - As a lecturer of the Fashion Research and Technology research group at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, he and the Wearable Data Studio focus on the computational manufacture of clothing, shoes and accessories, think for example the use of a 3D printer. Through this research, Troy and his team delve into the complex adaptive ecosystem of fashion, with a particular focus on data management, design, production and use.

Marina Toeters is a Fashion Tech Designer. Toeters is the initiator and driving force behind by-wire.net and her work is at the intersection of technology and fashion. From the Fashion Tech Farm in Eindhoven, she works on several projects in which she has shown the potential and added value of adding sensor technology in clothing. One example is Closed Loop Smart Athleisure Fashion. For this sportswear, flexible sensors are printed on a textile substrate to continuously measure the wearer's vital signs. The wearable sensors are comfortable, robust, invisible while wearing and washable so that they can actually be integrated into mainstream textile production.

Left Judith Peskens, right Sjouk Hoitsma. Photos: Patty van den Elshout

Judith Peskens is a product developer at the TextielLab of the Textielmuseum and involved in the Research & Development process that focuses on weaving with metal. Judith has been closely involved in the development of DRIFT's installation I am Storm and will take us through this process by using samples during Hi Tex.

Sjouk Hoitsma is head of collections at the Textielmuseum and will give an introduction to the exhibition Is it alive? to which the symposium is linked. In Is it alive? it all comes together: innovation, textiles, technology and art, inspired by life itself.

Foto: Patty van den Elshout

Philip Beesley is the head of Philip Beesley Studio Inc. (PBSI), an interdisciplinary design firm based in Toronto, Canada. Philip Beesley Studio Inc. developed the prototype Poietic Veil on behalf of, and in collaboration with, Delft University of Technology (TU). The work is the result of Philip Beesley's research into 'Living Architecture'.

Teun Verkerk works at the intersection of art and technology. He is interested in creative and unexplored applications of technology. This manifests itself in his own practice in which, in the past, he developed projects with electronic and digital technology in (public) space. He currently works as manager of the Crossing Parallels artist in residence programme at TU Delft and initiates art & technology collaborations and hackathons. He is also artistic leader and founder of art & technology festival Highlight Delft. Teun was closely involved in the development of the artwork Poietic Veil, in which Canadian architect Philip Beesley collaborated with TU Delft students. Poietic Veil can currently be seen in the exhibition Is it alive?

Eline van der Velde is a contemporary materials conservator, she engages in research on plastics within Design and Fashion Museum Collections. Previously, she contributed to the research project "Glossy Surfaces: The Conservation of TPUs in Fashion" at Fashion Museum Antwerp (MoMu). Preserving synthetic-coated fabrics proves challenging due to their intricate and composite nature, often characterized by a short life expectancy. This challenge frequently results in iconic pieces being unable to be displayed in museum collections, or, if not treated properly, they may even be deemed a 'total loss.'

Textile X Technology

Early in the twentieth century, the first combinations between electronics and textiles were made. Think, for example, of the electric blanket, which is still sold today. Today, so-called "Smart Textiles" go much further. It produces products that not only respond to their environment or to bodily functions, but can also begin to actively influence them. Examples of this are less well-known, but provide useful applications. T-shirts that help young asthmatics breathe and rugs that signal that someone is lying on the floor. In addition to interaction, the integration of the necessary components into the textile is also important. The goal is for textiles to retain their properties. For example, in what ways are sensors integrated into clothing, how does it feel? In addition to the programme of lectures, we therefore also have a "prototype market" where you can experience different examples of these textiles up close.

Is it alive? 

The Hi-Tex symposium highlights the various possibilities of connecting the digital and physical worlds of textiles. It is no coincidence that the symposium takes place in our museum.In fact, the symposium fits seamlessly with our ongoing experience exhibition "Is it alive?".Through the spatial installation on display here, you can experience the interactive possibilities of textiles. Besides 'I am Storm' by DRIFT, other dynamic works are on display by Philip Beesley, Iris van Herpen, Bart Hess and Tanja Smeets, among others.

Programme

The contents of the programme are still being developed, but the day will look like this:

12:00		- Doors open/registration guests
12:30		- Welcome by director TextielMuseum Jochem Otten, Karin van Paassen - Textielcommissie, followed by introduction moderator of the day: Hellen van Rees
12:40		- Start speaker programme including amongst others: Troy Nachtigall, Sjouk Hoitsma, Eline van der Velde and Teun Verkerk followed by an Q&A
14:30		- Coffee break, prototype market open
15:00		- Speaker programme resumed with amongst others: Marina Toeters, Philip Beesley and Judith Peskens followed by an Q&A
16:45		- Networking event
18:00		- The end

The exact programme including speakers will be added to over the next few weeks. Stay tuned via Instagram or subscribe to the newsletter!

Are you currently unable to attend the symposium due to financial reasons? Please contact Gaia van Egmond to discuss the possibilities.