Dutch designer Pauline Van Dongen's 'Wearable Solar' project has resulted in the creation of a dress and coat that make for fashionable and eco-friendly Earth Day fashion. Van Dongen's creations, a dress and a coat, are embedded with solar cells and were recently unveiled at SXSW.
The solar cells can be revealed when it's sunny or folded away and worn invisibly when there's no sunlight to take advantage of. The coat incorporates 48 solar cells while the dress contains 72. Each piece of clothing can store enough energy to charge a smartphone to 50% with just an hour of exposure to the sun.
Solar cells are specially constructed cells built to capture solar light and convert it to electricity. Van Dongen believes that a dress augmented with solar cells is a great way to harness electrical energy that can be used to power up different devices. This combination of fashion and eco-friendliness is a perfect example of Earth Day fashion.
What's Driving This Trend
- Wearable Solar Clothing
- The creation of solar-powered clothing presents an opportunity for the fashion industry to merge style and sustainability.
- Embedded Solar Cells
- The use of embedded solar cells in clothing opens up possibilities for innovative energy storage and charging solutions.
- Fashionable Eco-friendly Design
- The integration of solar cells into fashion design showcases the potential for eco-friendly and stylish garments.
Who This Affects Most
- Fashion
- The fashion industry can explore the incorporation of solar technology to create sustainable and functional clothing.
- Renewable Energy
- The renewable energy industry can leverage solar-powered clothing to promote alternative energy sources and encourage adoption.
- Technology
- The technology industry can collaborate with fashion designers to develop innovative ways to integrate solar cells into everyday garments.
