The overall aim of MAGICSHOES project is to test the feasibility and potential value of using wearable technology integrating sensory-feedback and body-tracking for improving body-representation, motor behaviour and emotion, and ultimately exercise adherence, in those physically inactive or with sedentary lifestyles. At the intersection between neuroscience research on mental body-representation (MBR), human-computer interaction (HCI) and real-life applications, MAGICSHOES will (1) develop a new wearable device that alters people's perception of their body size and capabilities as they walk or do other physical activity, resulting in more active motor patterns and positive emotional states. Further, this technology would allow (2) exploring its potential benefits for people that are physically inactive, by addressing emotional and psychological factors related to MBR. MAGICSHOES could be used for self-management and therapy for this population.
Magic Lining
The project focuses on the possibilities for altering people’s self-perception through the garment’s inside. Fashion is famous for its ability to alter people’s self perception through the looks: supportive garments adjusting the body physically (corset, tights, heels), form elements creating illusions (shoulderpads, 18th century costumes), uniforms or sub-culture looks creating the sense of belonging or exclusion. The current project looks into possible ways of altering self-perception from inside of the garment. Is there a way to change one’s self-perception without relying on the feedback and the need for approval from other people? Magic Lining builds on the insights from MAGICSHOES project and proposes a garment that allows the wearer’s the feel as if their body would be made of a different material. What happens in the transition moment, when the wearer shifts from his/her own body to the marble on, or the other way around? In the intersection of neuroscience research on mental body-representation (MBR), human-computer interaction (HCI) and real-life smart textile applications, the project ask questions about the meaning of clothing.
About this residency
Magic Lining
Sevilla, Spain
Exploring sensing and actuating E-textiles for altering self-perception through garment’s inside.
Kristi Kuusk graduated IT BSc at the Tallinn University of Technology in 2005. She worked as an analyst, while at the same time pursuing creative studies. She acquired an MA in Fashion Design at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EAA) in 2011. In 2016 Kristi presented her PhD project on craft and sustainability qualities in smart textile services at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Her collaborative design work is presented in various international exhibitions, shows and conferences. Since 2016 She works as an Associated Professor (0,5) in textile futures at EAA, and practices smart textile design in her studio.
Magic Lining Residency put together MAGICSHOES and Kristi Kuusk. MAGICSHOES is a scientific project that explores how sound can alter the experience of one’s own body and aims to test the feasibility and potential value of using wearable technology integrating sensory-feedback and body-tracking for improving body-representation (e.g. body size), motor behaviour (physical activity) and emotion (positive emotional states), and ultimately exercise adherence, in those physically inactive or with sedentary lifestyles. Kristi Kuusk is a designer-researcher interested in exploring new ways for textiles and fashion to be more sustainable through the implementation of technology. Both — MAGICSHOES and Kristi — have, thus, found in this residency a good opportunity to establish synergies and deeply develop their interests. From the insights of MAGICSHOES project — based on shoes and sound —, Kristi proposed to open the project to all the body and work notions such us vibration and garment, aiming to draw the attention to the unused internal side of the garments and textile as a space to alter people’s self-perception for more positive behaviour. Her ultimate goal would be, as she said, to contribute to a future where “instead of choosing clothes based on how they make us look, we could tap into the possibility of having clothes that are able to make us feel better — both physically and emotionally.” During Magic Lining Residency, Kristi and MAGICSHOES had the opportunity of coming together in a workshop in Tallinn, two residencies in Spain, and one in Tallinn. The residency resulted in the production of videos, photos, papers, and in a garment that allows the wearer to feel as if their body would be made of a different material.
Residency video report
Magic Lining helped the MAGICSHOES team to look for new concepts and methods for inducing sensory and emotional experiences that can increase body awareness and/or alter the perception of one’s body. It explored ways how clothing could make the wearer feel physically and emotionally satisfied with his/her body and being. Furthermore, the project brings MAGICSHOES to a new aesthetic level, tackling the current notion of fashion and garment industry and asking how could the value of fashion and clothing shift from outside to inside. The Magic Lining prototype introduced innovative wearable solutions for tracking body signals (movement, physiology) and delivering sound while people are on the move. Magic Lining also sheds light on the social acceptability of the new concepts presented by allowing the immediate community and wider public to experience and comment on the developed piece.
