Fashion is often a concept; we mold it to fit in our everyday lives. Although there is a common consent on the fact that we use it as a means of self-expression, more recently, it’s been interpreted as a means of protection. Eva Sonneveld’s Survival Constructions is one such example․ Sonneveld is a fashion and design student at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, whose fashion concept, called Survival Constructions, involves a collaboration with Claudine Pieters, from the University of Technology in Eindhoven. Eva’s work aims for the creation of a sustainable fashion having the future and innovations in mind.
Different kinds of pollution are among the biggest concerns of human beings in the 21st century. Air pollution, more specifically, is recognised as a silent killer which causes the death of millions of people in one year. The growing concern for sustaining life in a polluted nature have resulted in the creation of the Survival Constructions, which are sweaters designed with an apocalyptic dread of struggling for life in a contaminated and polluted nature. In fact, the idea is that if one is to survive in the face of disaster, one has to be able to adapt to the situation. Therefore, the survival construction is a knit sweater woven with innovative fabrics which have been dyed with thermochromic ink. This way, when exposed to high levels of pollution in the air, the colour of the fabric changes, informing the wearer of the presence of pollution. In other words, the fabric functions as an air pollution detector.
In addition to this, Eva and her collaborator have devised extra measures in only one product in order to enhance its practicality for emergency situations. The sweater incorporates a chip which vibrates and informs the wearer of his or her exposure to pollution, as well as a 50 meters long rope which has been designed and knitted as a vest for emergency situations.
All images, courtesy of designer: Eva Sonneveld
Film/Photographer: Lennert Antonissen
