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‘Runway’ contestant part of craft panel
“High Tech Craft: Why Sewing and Knitting Still Matter” was like the best show-and-tell show ever.
Panelists including Diana Eng from Season 2 of “Project Runway” showed off creations like a hoodie that takes pictures when your heartbeat increases, a solar-powered brooch, a scarf that changed colors based on temperature, another scarf that contained an MP3 player and a purse that lights up when you open it.
Eng and another panelist, Alison Lewis of Iheartswitch, spoke movingly of the influence of their grandmothers on their work. Eng’s grandmother taught her to sew, but she was also a math and computer science teacher and emphasized to her family the importance of technology.
Lewis’ grandmother started crafting in her mid-50s after she was widowed and was self-taught. Lewis spoke of admiring her grandmother’s resourcefulness and positive attitude.
Moderator Natalie Zee Drieu of Craft Magazine led an interesting discussion about the intersection of technology and fashion and what future developments the panelists projected.
Eng said that with stores such as H&M quickly copying the clothes of high-end designers, technology might become how luxury goods distinguish themselves.
Panelists Mouna Andraos of Electronic Crafts and Syuzi Pakhchyan of SparkLab both hoped the future would bring clothing that consumers woudl be able to interact with and customize more.
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