Textile Pleats and Light on the Body

This paper presents two iterations of the project Personal Wearable Light-Space. This project explores how light and textiles can be combined into a composite [2], [8] in conjunction with the movement of the human body. It thus contributes to design frameworks for interactive materials: They have inactive states and transform their appearance during active phases in their expression and when worn; how they look, behave, and function depends on their intertwined characteristics. The iterations aim to gather material samples and their expressions on the body: Presented here are 1) a material design study and 2) a performative exploration of light-textile composites. This discussion compares performativity, expression, and potential in characteristics and material choices. Finally, the conclusion synthesizes design parameters for light composites considering their variety in aesthetics and the textileness [3] of their performativity.