Wearable tech has been hitting us hard recently. From fitness trackers to glasses that talk to us and everything in between, we’re always looking for wearables that keep us connected because we’d be totally lost without all our devices, notifications, beeps and buzzes. But then again, remember what silence sounded like?
Kunihiko Morinaga does. The Tokyo-based fashion designer has the be-all, end-all of wearable technology: anti-wearables. Debuted at Toronto Fashion Week with Anrealage, Morinaga has sought to help us all remember the sounds of silence – with clothing that blocks incoming phone calls.
Made with a special fabric that shuts out almost all radio waves, the clothes ensure that whenever your phone is placed in one of the pockets, it no longer gets service.
Part of the Focus: Life Gear project by Trident, the garments are meant to “help us live a focused life by keeping technology and its attractive distractions in their place”.
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“We are spending too much time in this virtual world, even when we are with real people,” Morinaga explains, his aim being to “protect us from the storm of information”. Morinaga’s designs are pretty fashion-forward, with sleek tailoring resulting from his technique of using laser cutting and heat instead of the traditional stitch-and-sew – even layers are attached using adhesive.
Simply place your phone in any of the pockets on the garment, and you’ll be disconnected from the virtual world and be ready to connect in the real one. Though Morinaga’s colour palette may remind us of being wrapped in tinfoil à la TV dinner, we appreciate having clothes that force us to disconnect from social media, work emails, notifications, and the hundreds of other noises coming from our pockets. Maybe it’s high time we stopped chasing the perfect Instagram, and started tasting the brunch instead.
Grab your tinfoil hats, everybody, we’re going on a Zen retreat!
Pieces from the project are not for sale yet, but you can take a peek at the line on exhibit in Toronto as of now. Do you know someone in your life who needs phone-blocking clothing?
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