Anders Mellbratt

Speculative design 2009

Krepp-à-porter

A dress that changes with the volatility of the markets

With Arduino servos stock market API fabric

Krepp-à-porter is a dress responsive to the volatility of markets. It’s based on the so-called Hemline Index — the old truism that skirt length tracks the stock market — and inspired by the global economic meltdown (Kreppa in Icelandic) and the eco-design boom of the same moment.

Working in the tradition of figures like Hussein Chalayan, we explored how technology can change a person’s relationship to clothes. If clothes are self-adapting, how does that change the way we feel about them? Fashion changes at an ever-increasing rate; so does the economy — sometimes with massive repercussions, like the recent global financial collapse. Do people have time to worry about fashion in such situations? Or does fashion get more interesting in volatile times?

The Hemline Index was pioneered by economist George Taylor in the 1920s, who observed that skirt length didn’t just follow the stock market but predicted it. Two weeks before the 1929 crash, the Paris runways premiered floor-length dresses. That predictive quality is the basis for this piece, shown at IASDR 2009 in Seoul.

Photos by Ju Hang. Model: Sylvia Benavidez.

I developed the concept with Nils Wiberg, co-designed the dress with fashion designer Sally Ståhl, designed and built the custom Arduino + Fritzing circuit, and co-authored the peer-reviewed paper for the IASDR conference.

Model in a long pale grey dress with structured shoulders posing on a riverside walkway, Seoul skyline hazy in the background
Model in a long pale grey dress with structured shoulders posing on a riverside walkway, Seoul skyline hazy in the background
Model in a shorter version of the grey dress walking past lit shrubs and trees outside a city office building at dusk
Model in a shorter version of the grey dress walking past lit shrubs and trees outside a city office building at dusk
Silhouette of the model in front of a glowing turquoise illuminated wall of vertical light bars at night
Silhouette of the model in front of a glowing turquoise illuminated wall of vertical light bars at night
Model standing on a thin blue glowing line outside an office building at night, hands raised to her hair
Model standing on a thin blue glowing line outside an office building at night, hands raised to her hair
Model in the long grey dress posing against a large concrete wall, looking out toward a hazy waterfront
Model in the long grey dress posing against a large concrete wall, looking out toward a hazy waterfront
Model leaning against a concrete pillar in the same dress, with the receding columns of a motorway underpass behind her
Model leaning against a concrete pillar in the same dress, with the receding columns of a motorway underpass behind her
Macro shot of an etched circuit board engraved with the text 'Krepp-O-porter .02', showing copper traces and through-holes
Macro shot of an etched circuit board engraved with the text 'Krepp-O-porter .02', showing copper traces and through-holes