About CuteCircuit
CuteCiruit was founded in 2004 by Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz. It is the world’s first wearable technology fashion brand. The company holds quite a few patents within the wearable technology field. They work on both Haute Couture and ready-to-wear pieces. They also do many collaborations with different companies.
Vision and Mission
CuteCircuit aims to combine leading edge fashion design with up and coming technology and smart fabric. Through these means, they want to create fashion design that is so much more than just clothes. CuteCircuit is trying to create looks that are beautiful, and magical in its interactive ability.
“At CuteCircuit we believe that in the future our bodies will become the interface to data, and clothing will become an intelligent second skin enabling the wearers to connect with each other in a more intuitive and intimate manner.” – CuteCircuit
Exhibitions
– Barbican Museum
– Museum of Fine Arts Boston
– Museum of FIT
– Cooper Hewitt/Smithsonian Design Museum in New York
– World Economic Forum in Davos
Awards
– Fast Company: Innovation Design in Fashion and Beauty, Experimental, and Social Good
– Netexplo Innovation Award from Unesco
– AUGGIE Award 2020 for Biggest Societal Impact in VR and XR
– TIME Best Inventions of 2020
The Galaxy Dress
The Galaxy Dress is one of the largest wearable displays in the world. It is displayed in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The dress has 24,000 full color, 2×2 mm LEDs that are powered off of small iPod batteries. The dress is said to consume the same amount of electricity as 2 household light bulbs and does not overheat. The heaviest part of the dress is not the LEDs but the 40 layers of pleated silk organza crinoline that make up the skirt.
Infini-TShirt
Infini-TShirt, formerly TShirtOS, is a collaborative project between CuteCiruit and Ballantine’s Whisky. The shirt interacts with the internet via a smartphone app called Q. It can display animations, photos, and text, play music, take pictures at stomach level that post to social media, and change what is displayed on the LEDs based on the wearer’s jump. The shirt is 100% cotton with full color LEDs, a microphone, movement sensor, headphone jack, micro-camera, and operating system. The technology is patented.
Graphene Dress
The Graphene Dress is a collaboration with the National Graphene Insitute at the University of Manchester. The dress is based off of the hexagonal crystal pattern of graphene and uses a transparent graphene composite to conduct electricity. The dress also has a microprocessor that powers the dress, analyzes the data collected from the wearer’s breathing. The LEDs change color based off of the wearer’s breathing patterns. Graphene is a lightweight, flexible, conductive, and thermal material discovered by scientists at the University of Manchester. It is 200x stronger than steel and can carry 1000x more electricity than copper. Graphene won a Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010.
Mirror Handbag
The mirror handbag is a handbag that can display animations, messages, and tweets. It is controlled by the Q app and is made of ultralight-weight aluminum, last-etched acrylic mirror, and LEDs. It also has an Italian suede fabric interior.
It’s Time to Face(Mask) the Music
This limited edition face mask was created in a collaboration with MasterCard and the 2021 BRIT Awards. It interacts and illuminates in response to music and environmental sounds. It is made up of 64 pixels that are 8×8 micro-LED lights and is activated by a simple button.
If you are interested in learning more about CuteCircuit, visit their website:
https://cutecircuit.com/
Bibliography
“Biography.” CUTECIRCUIT, 11 May 2018, https://cutecircuit.com/biography/ .
Ganapati, Priya. “Designer Duo Create Dress With 24,000 LEDs.” Wired. www.wired.com , https://www.wired.com/2009/11/led-dress/. Accessed 2 Sept. 2024.
“Haute Couture.” CUTECIRCUIT, 19 Feb. 2013, https://cutecircuit.com/haute-couture/ .
Holmes, Kevin. “Would You Wear CuteCircuit’s Programmable, Digital T-Shirt?” VICE, 3 Aug. 2012, https://www.vice.com/en/article/would-you-wear-cutecircuits-programmable-digital-t-shirt-2 /.
It’s Time to Face(Mask) the Music. https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en-uk/newsroom/press-releases/en-gb/2021/may/it-s-time-to-face-mask-the-music/ . Accessed 2 Sept. 2024.
Jozuka, Emiko. “This Graphene Dress Lights up When You Breathe.” CNN, 1 Feb. 2017, https://www.cnn.com/style/article/graphene-carbon-dress-wearable-technology/index.html .
Knowles, Kitty. “Meet CuteCircuit: The British Fashion Tech Brand Loved By Fergie And Katy Perry.” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/kittyknowles/2018/03/29/cutecircuits-fantastic-fashion-tech-world-firsts/ . Accessed 2 Sept. 2024.
“Mirror Handbag.” CUTECIRCUIT, https://shop.cutecircuit.com/products/mirror-handbag . Accessed 2 Sept. 2024.
“Nobel Prize-Winning Wonder Material Used in Clothing.” Springwise, 2 Feb. 2017, https://springwise.com/nobel-prize-winning-wonder-material-used-clothing/ .
“Special Projects.” CUTECIRCUIT, 20 Feb. 2013, https://cutecircuit.com/special-projects/ .
“The 24,0000 Full Colour Pixel Galaxy Dress.” MaterialDistrict, 27 Nov. 2015, https://materialdistrict.com/article/240000-full-colour-pixel-galaxy-dress/ .TshirtOS Is Web-Connected, Programmable, 100 Percent Cotton (Video). 19 July 2019, https://www.engadget.com/2012-08-02-cutecircuit-tshirtos.html .