Manufacture Your Own Clothes Using Your Mac?

It is rare that something truly groundbreaking comes along. And something has, in Japan. A new method of manufacturing clothes without sewing or cutting cloth, – and a way to make amost anything out of the new materials being invented at the Miyake Design Labs. Of course, the artistic and creative front end for this new kind of manufacturing device could be your Mac.

“Miyake (was leaving) his famous career as a fashion designer to focus on A-POC, an experiment he began in the mid-’90s and turned into an independent line in 1999. An acronym for “a piece of cloth,” A-POC refers to both the fashion label and the manufacturing process behind it.

That process breaks one of the fundamental laws of fashion physics: cut and sew. Normally, clothes are made by weaving thread or yarn into fabric, which is then snipped and stitched to create, say, a dress. The A-POC method requires no sewing. Thread goes into the loom, the dress comes out. Specifically, a flattened tube of material emerges that contains the finished shirt, skirt, or pants, which need only to be cut out along the faint outline already woven or knit into the fabric. Moreover, the material can be snipped anywhere without unraveling, a feature that allows for complete customization. A pair of scissors and a flirtatious spirit can turn a turtleneck into a plunging V-neck.

But A-POC isn’t just a new way to make clothes – it’s a process that can be used to create all kinds of goods. Any material that can be turned into a fiber can work in the A-POC process, which gives Miyake the opportunity to produce anything from shoes to portable shelters. The A-POC team already has developed a series of colorful beanbag-like chairs and sofas that will come to market this year. The studio is also interested in a new corn-based fiber that could be used to construct other types of furniture, and it recently developed a resin-linen blend that a University of Tokyo lab found to be as strong as steel. To branch out, Miyake is looking into partnerships or licensing agreements.” – Jessie Scanlon

Here is a link to this new way of manufacturing.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.04/miyake_pr.html

I forsee the day that you can sit down at your Mac, and have it drive a portable A-POC machine to design and create your own clothes, -or a doll for your daughter, -or a new piece of furniture. Who knows what other things we may be able to build using our Macs in the future?