Pauline van Dongen, one of our favorite FashionTech designers, explores a fashionable and energy efficient future. Recently, she unveiled a new series of female wearable solar shirts, which are actually washable!
Solar energy for fashion
Since 2010, Van Dongen and her creative team have launched several ground breaking fashionable innovations, amongst which their collection of wearable solar dress & coat, which can absorb the sunlight and transfer it into battery.
“Solar power offers an “intelligent and cautious way” to use the planet’s resources”, Van Dongen says.
Wearable solar can be worn every day and it can charge any portable devices through USB connection.
After her solar panel pieces, Van Dongen started a new adventure called ‘Phototrope’, a new ‘illuminated running shirt’. This shirt incorporates LED ribbons with soft and flexible TPU foils, which can show the shimmering glow in the dark. The aim of the design is to encourage more people to run at night by improving the visibility of the wearer, and thus safety of the runner.
Phototrope Running Shirt, with the integration of LED ribbons in the garment, is visible in low-light environments.
Van Dongen said the main challenge with a concept like this is to use light in a more personal and intimate way, and not to create something too flashy. She hopes that people can feel comfortable wearing it, as well as feeling empowered in their performance.
Post written by Hanting Zhou, Contributing Writer
Hanting is a multilingual – Chinese, English, Japanese & French – student at ESCP EUROPE. Interested in the topics of FashionTech, Asian & European fashion and woman empowerment, she was involved with companies and NPOs such as LeanIn, AIESEC and Lane Crawford, where she gained experience in communication, marketing and sales. She joined Clausette in March 2016.