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Fabric that “Melts” in Water

by on Jan 27, 2009

A dress made of tattered brown fabric hanging above a tub of water.

Two professors–one of fashion, the other of science–teamed up to fabricate melting fabric which was then used to make high-end couture-type togs. The dresses are part of a UK touring fashion exhibit entitled ‘Wonderland’. The dresses, made of a polymer, are dipped into vessels of water and left to ‘melt’ into a gel-like substance that can be used to germinate seeds.

The point of all this? To juxtapose the transient nature of fashion and the fragility of our environment. Clothing that melts isn’t exactly practical in a rainstorm, but using the same substance to make packaging, could be the answer to a very large problem. Via.

A dress specially engineered to melt in water is hanging above a glass tub.

Images courtesy of Alex Maguire.