Playful Garments = Deep Connections?
Textile Designer Jo Hodge has been experimenting with innovative technology, recycled materials and unusual forms to create interactive garments that ignite conversations, body awareness and intimate touch. These magical colour changing garments invite verbal and social interactions, in our ever-changing disconnected and digital world.
By the process of printing heat reactive dyes onto garments which highlight areas of the body that are more intimate and rarely touched Jo’s pieces show to the world, by a simple colour change reaction, where there has been contact, if only for a fleeting moment.
Parts of a garment that do not normally see sunlight, such as linings, underskirts and insides of pockets are printed with light reactive inks. It is exciting to see the print glow brilliantly bright and turn deep hues but for this to occur the wearer has to lift up or open the garment, revealing more of themselves than they might normally feel comfortable with.
Jo’s pieces make us more aware of our actions and the actions of others. Can this awareness and short lived record create a bond between garment and wearer, or will the garments ability to adapt to movements & touch visually displaying certain emotions alienate wearer from garment?
