Adobe and fashion designer Christian Cowan have teamed up to introduce the first wearable, electronically reconfigurable garment made with Adobe Primrose Technology in the parade New York Fashion Week. This unique collaboration illuminates the path to a future where creatives can use revolutionary technology to redefine the boundaries of what is possible in fashion design.
The Adobe x Christian Cowan Dress powered by Primrose Technology debuted on the runway as the main look of the designer’s new fall/winter collection. They used to develop the design “Petals” made from laser-cut liquid crystals dispersed in polymers that electronically alter the appearance of Cowan’s iconic stars, bringing the dress to life in an instant. Below each petal column is a base with a flexible circuit board that allows the petals to alternate and change between shades of gray and ivory. Dynamic clothing opens up limitless possibilities in fashion design, showing how static clothing can be transformed into dynamic expressions of art and technology.
“As someone who is always looking to push boundaries and embrace new ways of working, after seeing what Project Primrose technology was capable of, I was eager to further explore this intersection of fashion and technology and for my F /W ’24 NYFW to collaborate with Adobe” said Christian Cowan. «I was immediately excited by its potential and was particularly drawn to the underlying idea of sustainability and the ability to create multiple iterations of a single garment. I’m honored to be the first designer to show how this powerful technology can be used to bring fabrics and designs to life like never before.“.
A technological substance
The Presenting the Adobe Primrose Dress at Adobe MAX 2023 was a pivotal moment to showcase this innovative technology that transforms fabric into a living, breathing work of art. «We are very proud of this collaboration with Christian Cowan, which not only allows designers to dream big and imagine garments that evolve and interact with their surroundings, but also shows how Adobe’s suite of products can help create new to explore areas of possibility“, he claimed Gavin Miller, Director of Adobe Research. «With Primrose, traditional clothing that was once static can now be transformed into dynamic expressions of art and technology, and the Adobe x Christian Cowan dress with Primrose technology is an example of Adobe’s ongoing vision to shape the future of creativity and design«.
Behind this unique creation were Adobe’s own tools, which played an essential role in every phase of the design process. Adobe Illustrator laid the foundation, tracing the flexible circuit boards and petal positions and sketching the patterns, while Adobe After Effects brought the dress to life and animated it with captivating motion graphics.
Creativity and technology are increasingly linked. In the Paris Fashion Week 2021, a haute couture garment custom designed using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator walked the runway as 3D design in the fashion industry leads to shorter product creation cycles, cost savings and greater sustainability through digital workflows by using Adobe Substance tools to create prototypes and realistic 3D visualizations.