Lucent cloth

Abstract

Lucent Cloth comprises of 20 illuminative Polymeric Optical Fibre (POF) textiles from 4 design collections developed between 2014 to 2018. The collections are titled Dimensional Illumination, Crafting Photonics, Sensory Light and Carrara. Early research on POF textiles focused on the use of POFs as flexible screens. Thus prototypes often possess a flat surface and a stiff handle. The integral characteristics of POFs are fragile and susceptible to breakage when bent abruptly. Existing designs and POFs tend to utilize a plain weave to develop textiles that are flat to prevent fibre breakage which will affect the illumination on the lateral side of the textile. Tan’s research demonstrates new methods of illuminative textile making based on investigation of materials, weave processes, and knit processes. New developments were made in the areas of textile tactility, structure, and ease of component connections via weave patterns. The research overcame the fragile and stiff characteristics of POF fibres to develop new textiles that possess pliant 3-dimensional structures and soft and sheer handles with stretch ability that had not been previously explored. Tan’s work has been discussed in illustrated features in WGSN (Worth Global Style Network) and Harper’s Bazaar. Tan has presented this research through 15 international exhibitions, two exhibition books, a journal publication, three international public lectures, an international designer residency, a filed patent, four international awards for design and research, and the successful competitive bidding of 1 PhD student for project sustainability. Over the period of five years, Tan utilized POFs as a medium to develop a range of novel techniques for weaving and surface treatment. The work has achieved control over handle, illumination stability, interactivity and component integration. The research process involved extensive experiments, sampling, and interdisciplinary research with engineers for component and software application designs.