Kerri Wallace

Biography

Kerri is a textile designer from the United Kingdom currently challenging the potential of wearable display technologies in textile design.

Prior to her MA in Design for Textile Futures, Kerri graduated from Chelsea College of Art & Design in BA Textiles, 2005 where she specialised in recycled materials for the body and home, and sustainable solutions for interior and exterior spaces. This exploration included textile manipulation and mixed media approaches, printed techniques, and a related written paper.

Kerri is both a conscientious and dynamic designer whos skills include silk-screen and digital print design, constructed textiles, fine art and communication design.

Research Question

Is it possible to externalise the mechanical and biological body in motion through a visual celebration in performance textiles for sport?

Final Project

Kerri explores the possibilities of producing motion responsive fabrics for sportswear. She is using correlations between heart rate and body temperature as a trigger for change and form of visual monitoring, creating evolutional interactive textiles inspired metamorphosis, mutations, biomimetics and mimicry, that characteristically mimick both animal and human species.

This project is supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Kerri is currently a 2006-7 award holder.

Keywords

mimicry, evolution, metamorphosis, mutation, motion, responsive, smart, sportswear, fitness

Rationale & Context

Performance materials in sport is an increasingly evolving area where design, science and technology are merging to accomplish new and innovative concepts and products in the area of smart and intelligent design. ‘Biomimetics’ for example is a science that looks to nature to solve human problems by imitating nature’s greatest ideas and applying these concepts to technology and design. New fabrics and fibres are being introduced to enhance active performance and fitness whilst seamlessly improving comfort and heat regulation properties for users. With continued emerging developments in fitness and performance apparel, Kerri aims to further develop 'Motion Response sportswear', revolutionising fitness apparel, designing seamlessly responsive textiles and producing body & motion sensitive wearable displays.

Materials & Technology

Active, high stretch performance fibres, temperature specific thermo-chromic printed technologies and thermo-chromic liquid crystal inks.

Experience

Kerri also works as a technician at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design assisting in the dye and print workshops of the textile department.

Kerri has also worked as a freelance designer for Line Consultants and The Collection design studio.

Images

Links

• http://www.biomimicry.net
• http://speedo.com
• http://hallcrest.com
• http://infosthetics.com

Contact

• email: kerriwallace411@yahoo.co.uk
• website: http://www.kerriwallace.com
• mobile: +44 (0)7904 086 301