Pioneering New Territories with a Playful Heart: Insights from Smart Textile Development

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ZOZO Group's first textile development challenge, “Project Foil,” is a collaboration with HOSOO Co., Ltd. and the Yasuaki Kakehi Laboratory at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies. This joint research on “Developing New Textiles that Balance Functionality and Beauty” has produced works combining traditional crafts with advanced materials and interaction technologies. The currently ongoing exhibition "Ambient Weaving─Environment and Textile" features five works utilizing color changes due to environmental temperature, computer-controlled organic EL lighting, and UV curing.

How was this cutting-edge research and development project realized? What challenges and possibilities did the smart textile development reveal? We interviewed Kotaro Tajima and Satoshi Nakamaru from ZOZO Technologies' MATRIX, who led this project, to find out.

PROFILE

Kotaro Tajima

Director for new technology development and its commercialization at ZOZO Technologies' MATRIX division. Oversees smart textile development utilizing materials and devices and manages an owned media focused on Fashion Tech.

PROFILE

Satoshi Nakamaru

Researcher at ZOZO Technologies' MATRIX division, focused on new technology development and commercialization. Ph.D. in Policy and Media. Specializes in developing soft functional materials and devices and designing interactions and UX using these materials. Has exhibited works at events like Ars Electronica Festival and received awards such as ACM DIS 2019 Best Paper.