The Verge: ThereThere are no rules on “Freaky Friday” at Smooth Technology’s Brooklyn studio. Accompanied by a robot bartender that, through facial recognition software, remembers your drink preference, a light-up demon babydoll, and a boatload of tools, the team gathers to spitball ideas. The wilder the better. And while freedom to explore the freaky is chicken soup for the innovator’s soul, it’s “Meticulous Monday” that keeps the team grounded in their fast-paced and pioneering ventures.
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8 comments:
I am so impressed with the fact that Smooth Technology makes most of their effective mechanical elements in the span of a week or two. It will take me about three weeks to write a really bad essay, but they’re out here idealizing, prototyping and finessing mechanical moments that have become very iconic in the entertainment world. However, I was more so interested in a lot of the perspectives they brought up. I had never really thought of the relationships between art, humanity and technology because I feel like my own art and my relationship with technology are very separate things. They spoke about things like the timing of Billy Porter’s hat for dramatic effect, and the random generation of Janelle Monae’s blinking eye dress so as to express a sort of realism. I thought this was impressive because they weren’t just thinking mechanically of how to get the task done, but of how to actually allow the wearer to make a statement by putting on the garment.
When I think of "wearable technology", my first thought goes to super-advanced google glasses or apple watches, however, I have never thought about wearable tech for large scale fashion pieces such as the opening and closing hat that Billy Porter wore at the Grammys, or Janelle Monae's blinking eye dress. One argument that is made in this article, is that it is difficult to make high tech fashion that is both fashionable and functional, and more of the pieces that Smooth Technology works with are for high-end occasions, as more of a "show stopper" than something that would be worn on a daily basis. I will say, that in the photo of Billy Porter's hat that was chosen for the beginning of this article, you can very clearly see the small pully like a system that is wrapped around the hat. While from far away, this may slip the eye, I wonder if there is a potential future of smaller, hidden wearable tech that is more applicable for daily use.
The quote-unquote “creative industry” seems to walk a very fine line between taking their sweet time and rushing to develop and output a product or production. The continual merging of the creative and technical industries almost begs a redefinement of the hard lines of separation we draw between the two. It’s amazing how quick of a turnaround celebrities and companies demand nowadays- I imagine that the actual design process and styling of celebrities for high profile events such as the Grammy’s or the Met Gala has been in the works for months, so why are they choosing to attempt to add in technology this late in the process? But either way, the fact that this company is able to go from client ask to fully realized process in such a short time frame is incredibly impressive, and speaks to their talent on hand. Their iterative process seems to be constantly shifting and changing to meet their client’s requests.
The fashion in this article is absolutely mind blowing. It would only make sense to see more technology being integrated into clothes since our age is so dependent on it. It was obvious that great thought was put into the creation of each garment. A small detail that could easily be missed that I admired was how they pay attention to social media culture when making their fashion. When they were making Billy Porter’s hat, they wanted to make the fringe open slowly, with part of the reason being to create a meme that social media could attach to. It may seem silly, but social media and memes is how most information spreads to the public. If the fashion gains traction on it, more people will recognize it for its imaginative creation. As an aspiring costume designer, this article was an incredibly informational read into the future of fashion and technology.
Wow!! I’ve seen both Billy Porter’s automated hat and Janelle Monae's eyelash shirt so it was really exciting to learn about the studio that made both of these impressive costumes! As a costume designer, I love learning about new and exciting things that are going on in the fashion or costume world. I remember seeing Zendaya’s Cinderella dress at the MET Gala that transformed and lit up on the red carpet. It’s amazing how technology is transforming the world of clothing and textiles. In the article they talk about how difficult it is to make something that’s functional fashionable which is whole new set of problems that fashion or costume designers don’t normally have to think about. After reading about their process from coming up with an idea to handing over a finished project I was blown away by the fact that it can be as short as a week or two to create one of these pieces.
This is a really cool idea. I also really love the character of their Brooklyn studio. It has a very “lived in” look and feels like a lot of creativity definitely happens in that space. Integrating technology into costumes seems like such an interesting idea. I have seen some of this before, but Smooth Technology seems to be on the rise as a company. This really adds so much to the spectacle idea that artists look for in concerts and other big events. It definitely makes the show way more entertaining when there is a really unique visual effect like this one and Smooth definitely realizes this fact. There’s so much that technology can add to traditional design like costumes. I think when you couple the old and the new together, you create something really special, and it is amazing to see that being experimented with lately. I am excited to see more of their work.
This. This is what I am here for. This hat is so freaking cool, and I have always wanted to know more about how it works. The dramatic element of Billy standing there as a fringe vail was magically and seamlessly pushed back is so captivating. This was a new approach to an image that we are all familiar with: hats being used to hide people’s faces. This design takes that to the next level.
Also, I went to one of Taylor Swift’s 1989 shows in eighth grade, and I distinctly remember her light up dress. I could not even tell you the song she sang in it because I was busy doing the mental math for how they made that work. In Taylor’s dress, as for many other light-up garments, there is a stronger juxtaposition between rigid technology and malleable textiles. I think it is such a thought-provoking combination that leaves people baffled as to how to interpret it. I surely had no clue.
I had tried reading this article twice before, but I was too impatient to sit through it all. This time, I dithered a bit, clicked on the article, and powered through the entire thing in one sitting. I am so glad I did. I am so inspired. Even though I am not exactly a "techy" person, the essence of Smooth Technology's design is what I'm all for and all about. To create something simple but beautiful is a rare thing. To create something simple and beautiful with one key point of complexity is phenomenal. That is what I always aim for as an artist, even if I am not always successful. I also love to see the marriage of technology and what's often considered a more "feminine" art like fine arts and fashion. As someone in school for theatrical design and production, I am equally in touch with art and tech, and I am slowing easing myself into the understanding that they are not so different sometimes.
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