TECHNOLOGY
CHANGES
BUSINESS
Råvara, Raw, Mölndal, Göteborg, 21 October 2008
Developments in textiles are advancing with fierce intensity. Application areas stretch far beyond the traditional, trained more on spacewalks than the flashbulbs of the catwalk. Tomorrow’s textiles are intelligent, interactive and in all likelihood not developed in a western country near you. The BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China stand ready to move to sixth gear and, due to enormous financial resources and increasingly higher expertise in the field, can skip development phases with which the “old” world still struggles.
With Next Textile, FutureDesignDays takes aim at tomorrow’s textile innovations and the business-related consequences born of this high-speed pioneering spirit by hosting an event on August 12, 2008. On stage stand as usual the bold, the innovative and those crazy enough to challenge the norms. FutureDesignDays’ Next Textile is an afternoon and evening of seminars and panel debates housed at the Nordic Light Hotel in Stockholm. We’ll wind up the evening in the traditional manner with food, drinks and mingle. There are only a limited number of seats so be quick.
Seats are limited.
Programme
FutureDesignDays Next Textile:
Susanne Edström, Smart Textiles
Andreas Friedrich and Pär Heyden, Semcon Design
Moderator:
Marcus Bergman
Panel debate:
Speaker as per above, plus:
Mats Lundgren, Managing Director, F.O.V. Fabrics
Speakers
Smart Textiles
What signifies a smart textile and how can we build a centre of excellence and an outstanding environment for creating the future of textiles?
- Undershirts with integrated textile sensors, stretch sensors in seatbelts, temperature regulating sportswear and textile produced blood vessels.
- Curtains heating up your house –after a warm sunny day.
- Climate control and energy saving screens, textile reinforcement in concrete, smart filters and sound absorbing textiles interacting with the surroundings.
These are just a few examples of what we will see in the future – these are the next generation of textile products. These are smart textiles.
Textile is in the frontline of design development and is creating new trends. There is a great and increasing demand for new textile products and the new generation has different demands on techniques and design.
Tomorrow the technique is self-evident and this applies on the textile materials as well as the textile processes. The development of the next generation of textiles leads to completely new functions due to closer cooperation and networking between researchers from different disciplines. When technicians and designers meet and interact throughout the entire process of development synergies result in new possibilities. With e.g. nanotechnology, phase change fibres, sensor technologies, we create unlimited new textile solutions and new products of tomorrow.
Smart Textiles is a new and prioritized research area in the Sjuhärad region. In Borås and Western Sweden we are coordinating and organizing a dynamic innovation system, Smart Textiles, in order to create an inclusive environment for the development of the next generation’s textile solutions. The core activities of Smart Textiles emerge from the Swedish School of Textiles located in the city of Borås. Smart Textiles is a collaboration between different parties; academic, social and industrial. Researchers and students from universities and colleges from all over the world work with different projects in collaboration with research institutes as well as with the industry in a wide range of different international and national networks. Combining the basic research with company/consumer driven research is the main theme in our work.
Andreas Friedrich and Pär Heyden
Senior Designers, Semcon Design
Semcon is a global technology development company with business at 40 sites on three continents. Semcon designs and develops products for some of the world’s most successful companies.
Andreas Friedrich
Senior Designer, Semcon Design
Andreas FreidrichAndreas is one of the founders of Caran Design in 1995 och has since then played an important role in the development of the company, which today is a part of Semcon.He has worked for 6 years at Volvo Design department, with projects like the launch and the interior design of Volvo C30, but also with the XC60 and the YCC design. Andreas is also an architect, as a free-time pursuit.
Pär Heyden
Senior Designer, Semcon Design
Pär HeydenFormer responsible for Interaction Design at Volvo Cars, with models like S40/V50/C30, ACC2, VCC and YCC, among others. Pär is now focussing on Strategic Design and the connection between brand and design. Today he is working as much outside as within the car industry.
Mats Lundgren
Managing Director, FOV Fabrics AB
Mats Lundgren is the MD and owner of FOV Fabrics – the Innovator of High Tech fabrics. FOV’s goal and challenge is to create textile products with an intelligence that makes it possible to move into business growth areas.
Today FOV is developing fabrics that heats, lights and senses. End applications of the products can be in the energy sector, biotech or cleantech.
Read more:
http://www.fov.se/
Moderator:
Marcus Bergman
Marcus Bergman is a researcher at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, and a lecturer at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås. His research deals with reform in the textile industry. By implementing artistic and poetic qualities into the field of design critique, Bergman seeks new ways of approaching textile objects. In this, ethical qualities can be dealt with in a more sophisticated manner; something that the textile industry is in dire need of.
