The wardrobe of tomorrow: orange peels, spacesuits and human hair

Thousands of years ago, a clever ancestor realized that you could make a coat from an animal hide. Although there were no awards for inventions at that time, this discovery certainly deserved one. Clothing enables people to survive in places where we normally do not belong, such as in icy cold or hot deserts. Unlike other animals, we wear clothing as a kind of second skin that adapts to our environment. A next nature.

What started with a simple animal hide and wicker shoes has now grown into a gigantic fashion industry, featuring both fast fashion and exclusive brands. But how will fashion continue to evolve? Could clothing eventually be made from living materials, like orange peels, algae or mushroom spores? Or will it become entirely digital, like a dress with QR codes? It’s time to reconsider what the fashion of tomorrow could look like. We began exploring this during the first edition of Friday Next: Future Fashion on November 8, where innovations in the fashion industry were showcased.

Human hair as a sweater
Designer Zsofia Kollar shared her radical vision for sustainability: garments made from human hair. She spoke about the immense amount of hair—2.2 billion kilos each year—that is discarded worldwide after haircuts, questioning whether human hair, like sheep’s wool, could be a valuable resource. Although the idea of clothing made from human hair initially sounded strange to the audience, Kollars presentation ultimately sparked enthusiastic discussions in the room. Would you also donate your hair for a sweater?

Emotion as material
Designer Jasna Rok took the audience further into the future. She began her presentation with a video message from her digital twin from the future, who described the possibility of owning just a single piece of clothing. The real Jasna Rok then took over, adding that this garment could change color and shape. What may have sounded futuristic became reality when Rok showed her Eleven E-ID: a dress that changes color based on the wearer’s emotions, detected through a brainwave band.

A moon as a hat
The next generation also had a chance to showcase their work. Merel de Hond, a student at Koning Willem I College, presented an impressive hat inspired by the moon. “Our teachers assigned us to design an outfit based on the theme 'space and clowns'”, she explains. She started brainstorming, realizing it was quite a challenge to combine these themes. Eventually, she landed on Charlie Chaplin’s hat and saw that she could merge that style with the appearance of the moon. Merel created the hat from polyurethane foam, carefully carving craters to replicate the texture of a lunar landscape.

Friday Next: what’s next?
Future Fashion brought together a wide range of wardrobes, and although this edition has now ended, the exploration of the future continues. Curious about what else the future has to offer? Then don’t miss the next Friday Next on December 13. André Kuipers will present his new film BEYOND, followed by a discussion. Start thinking about the questions you'd like to ask him!

With thanks to all the designers and partners: Allegra Spinella, AMFI, ASML, Brabant C, Connect the Odds, Dasha Tsapenko, DesignDigger, Fashion Research & Technology (HvA), Holly Krueger, Jasna Rok, Jeroen Junte, Julie Heij, Kahrawan Suleiman, Kantamanto Social Club, Koen Giesen, Koning Willem I College, Marina Toeters, Maja Blom, Mila Burden, Oscar Wentz, Pauline Blind, Ruben Jurriën, Soof Maria Stoop, Summa Fashion Eindhoven, TU Eindhoven, Yaroslav Grygorchuk.

All photo rights go to Dinke van der Zalm, except for the picture where you can see the texture of the moon-hat.