- At Paris Fashion week, French luxury brand Coperni wowed its audience by painting a white dress onto the supermodel’s body
- Learn more about how silly string inspired Fabrican, the company that makes this product, and see what else the technology can be used for
During Paris Fashion week, US model Bella Hadid is dressed with a spray-on fabric. Photo: dpaAt Paris Fashion Week, which took place between September 26 and October 4, top fashion houses and designers presented their new collections. At the finale of French luxury brand Coperni’s show, the audience was puzzled when supermodel Bella Hadid strutted down the runway wearing only her underwear.
She was soon joined by two technicians who used spray cans to paint a white dress onto her body. Her skin seemed to be covered in a layer of spider webs which quickly transformed into fabric.
Next, an assistant cleaned up the dress’ rough edges with her hands. She arranged the patches of paint to form off-the-shoulder straps and finished off the dress with a slit along Hadid’s leg. The model then walked the remainder of the runway in the slinky dress, leaving viewers in awe.
The video of this spray-on dress went viral as fashion enthusiasts and science geeks scrambled to understand the technology behind this magical liquid fibre.
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Science behind fabric in a can
The brain behind this liquid fibre is Spanish fashion designer and scientist Dr Manel Torres. He was inspired by the science behind silly string – turning a liquid into foamy plastic strings once it leaves a pressurised can (see graphic). He took this idea to a new level with a wearable spray-on fabric that could be dispersed through a mist.
Coperni’s stunt may have recently introduced this dress to the wider world, but Torres’ company, Fabrican was founded almost a decade ago in 2003.
According to the company’s website, the spray-on fabric is formed by “the cross-linking of [natural and synthetic] fibres which adhere to each other and to the surface sprayed to create an instant non-woven fabric”. The product is liquid in the can but dries once it comes in contact with air. It goes on like a second skin.
Adaptable and reusable
According to Torres’ TED Talk from 2013, the Coperni dress feels soft like suede, and its texture can be changed depending on the materials used. Fabrican’s technology is designed to accommodate a variety of fibres, including wool, cotton, nylon, cellulose, and even carbon nanofibres.
As seen on Hadid, its application is as easy as it seems. Torres suggested that users could spray the product directly on their bodies to create clothing of their choice or to repair existing fabric.
This spray-on fabric could also be good for the environment. Fabrican’s website states that its technology uses substances that do not deplete the ozone. Its fibres primarily come from discarded clothing and other fabrics, and the materials can be redissolved and reused.
While the dress Hadid wore is not for sale, Arnaud Vaillant, Coperni’s chief executive, said it could be hung and washed, or returned to the bottle of its original solution to regenerate a new outfit.
Now that Torres’ Fabrican has caught the eyes of the fashion world, perhaps it will not be long before all of us start creating our own outfits with a can in hand.
Besides fashion, are there other uses for Fabrican?
Fabrican’s applications extend beyond fashion. According to Torres’ TED Talk, the fabric created using this spray-on method is sterile, which means it can be applied in the medical industry to produce protective garments and face masks.
It can create coverings that are waterproof, flexible and soft for wound dressings and bandages. If the fibres are adjusted, the product can solidify into a hard material to be used as a cast for broken bones.
The reusable fabric also absorbs oil, which means it could be used to clean bodies of water after oil spill disasters.