The Fashion of the Future:Scientists 1)Usher in a New Age of Hi-tech Textiles 科学家引领时尚的未来
文字难度：★★★☆
科学崇尚严谨,时尚讴歌前卫。看似迥异不同的两者,实则有不少交集。其中最显著的是,科学和时尚都需要不断去创新和突破。科学和时尚融合,共同演绎出精彩这样的事例不胜枚举,美国苹果公司推出的一系列精巧的iPod产品就是科学与时尚完美结合的最好例证。
据了解,科学家们一直在进行“隐形衣”的研究,他日如果真的研制成功,那它亦可算是科学与时尚两者之间的又一次火花碰撞——科幻小说里经常出现的神奇的“隐形衣”肯定会受到无数人的追捧。不过,对于未来十几年的时尚热点,科学家们已有自己的独特见解,赶紧一起来看看! ——Maisie
As London recovers from the glamour and 2)glitz of its 25th annual 3)Fashion Week, the 4)haute couture 5)caravan moves on from Milan to Paris. By the end of the trip, we should have some idea of the trends that will be making their way from 6)catwalk to 7)high street in the early months of 2010. But if you want to know what the hot looks will be a decade further on, don’t ask a designer—talk to a scientist.
1) usher [5QFE] v. 引领，展示
2) glitz [glIts] n. 闪光，炫目，浮华
3) Fashion Week 此指2009伦敦春夏时装周。伦敦时装周是国际四大著名时装周之一，每年举办2次，分春夏时装周（9、10月上旬）和秋冬时装周（2、3月），它基本决定了当年及次年的世界服装流行趋势
4) haute couture <法> 高级女子时装
5) caravan [5kArEvAn] n. 大篷车，有蓬卡车
6) catwalk [5kAtwC:k] n. 狭窄甬道，如桥的侧边或戏院舞台上布景控制处的过道，此指时装表演舞台
7) high street 此指高街。“High street（高街时尚）”这个词是指那些英国主要商业街的商店仿造T形台时尚秀上展示的时装，迅速制作为成品销售，让人人都能买到。英国很多城市最繁华的商业街都被称为“高街”
第25届伦敦时装周这浮华璀璨的年度盛事才降下帷幕,高级女子时装大蓬车便继续前行,先是到米兰,再驶向巴黎。此行结束之时,对于将从时尚天桥移师至高街的2010年春季时装流行趋势,我们大概也有点头绪了。不过,如果你想了解十来年后的时尚热点,别问设计师——要问科学家。
I’m not suggesting that the white lab coat is about to become the new little black dress. But new ideas are being developed that could change everything about what we wear. For example, designers such as Manel Torres are exploring the possibility of 8)spray-on clothing, and have successfully created 9)prototypes. Torres’s 10)non-woven fabric can be made by spraying 11)benign chemical 12)formulations directly towards the body, distributing thousands of fibers across the wearer’s skin, which then bind together to form disposable garments.
8) spray-on 喷射
9) prototype [5prEJtEtaIp] n. 样品，原型
10) non-woven 非纺织的
11) benign [bI5naIn] adj. 良性的，对健康无害的
12) formulation [7fC:mjJ5leIFEn] n. 制剂，配制成的材料
我并不是说,白色的实验室工作服将变成新的“小黑裙”,成为时尚必备。我是说,正在形成的新思路能改变我们有关穿戴的一切。比如,设计师马尔内·托雷斯正在探索“喷涂布”的可能性,而且已经成功地制作出了样品。托雷斯设计的“非织布”是这样的,直接在人体上喷涂良性化学制剂,无数纤维丝随即形成,覆盖在穿者的皮肤上,并结合形成一次性外衣。
If clothing does become a matter of “spray and go”, it will bring a new meaning to the expression “throwing an outfit on”. But it’s not just the process of creating the fabrics: textile research has begun to address the idea of making them responsive. Imagine if your clothing could alter the feeling of a room when you walk in, to suit your preferences. Science could provide outfits that both interact with and control the environment they are in. On a smaller scale, this could be in the form of clothing that heats or cools in response to temperature changes: such fabrics are being researched by the 13)University of Bath and 14)London College of Fashion, 15)engineered around 16)systems found in nature. In the longer term, 17)nanotechnology within fabrics could allow built interiors to become “smart” objects, allowing a room to adjust its smell, color, temperature, texture, taste and sounds to suit its inhabitants’ moods.
13) University of Bath 巴斯大学，成立于1966年，是一所规模较小的英国大学
14) London College of Fashion 伦敦时装学院，成立于1967年，在提供时装教育、研究和咨询方面享有良好的国际声誉
15) engineer [7endVI5nIE] v. 设计，制造
16) system [5sIstEm] n. 规律，方法
17) nanotechnology [5nAnEJ7tek5nɒlEdVI] n. 纳米技术，指的是仅用原子或分子来制造电路板与电子装置的技术
如果衣服真的成了某种“一喷成形”的东西,那么我们平时讲“披上件衣服”这个说法便从此有了新一层意味。不过,这关系到的并不只是布料材质的制作过程:纺织品研究已经开始研究如何使纺织品带有感应功能。想像一下,要是你的衣服能在你进入房间时,改变房间给你的感觉,满足你的偏好,那该多好。科学能提供这样一套衣服——它能感应调控其所处的环境。简单具体地说,就是会有这么一种服装,能根据温度变化相应地升温或降温:依据从自然界中发现的规律,巴斯大学和伦敦时装学院的研究者们正在研究设计这样的材质。从长远来看,织物的内置纳米技术能够使建筑物内部成为“智能”对象,让房间调整其气味、色彩、温度、质地、格调和声音,以配合居住者的心情。
Fabrics implanted with nanotechnology could even help you get a date. Scientists and designers are researching clothing that has the capacity to monitor the body’s respiratory system, heartbeat and temperature controls and respond to alter your health or mood. Jenny Tillotson, a designer at 18)Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, has been developing a “smart” second skin, which has interactive fragrance technology permanently built into the clothing: examples include clothing and jewellery that release scents such as 19)menthol, which could help alleviate medical problems including 20)asthma attacks. This innovation could also be used for more romantic purposes. In the future, your clothing could sense your body’s 21)indicators of physical attraction—such as increases in your temperature, heart rate and amount of sweat—and release hormones to attract the opposite sex.
植入纳米技术的织物甚至可能帮助你成功约会。科学家和设计师们正在研究一种衣服,它能监测人体的呼吸系统、心跳和温度变化,然后作出相应调适,改变你的健康状况或情绪。中央圣马丁艺术与设计学院的设计师詹妮·蒂洛森一直在开发一种“智能的”第二皮肤,其具有永久性植入衣服的交互式香味技术:如能散发出薄荷脑之类香味的衣服和首饰,薄荷脑有助于缓解包括哮喘在内的某些疾病。这种技术创新也可以用于更浪漫的目的。将来,你的衣服能够感应“性”趣指数——比如体温的升高、心率及排汗量——并释放出荷尔蒙来吸引异性。
That’s only the beginning, though. Within the decade, we could see stores selling shirts that turn us into 22)portable power stations. Scientists are already looking to develop energy-23)scavenging fabrics, with nanotechnology built in that uses the 24)kinetic energy from the wearer’s movements and converts it into electricity for powering electronic devices—a similar principle, in fact, to the kinetic watches sold today. Such systems would be potentially life-saving for hikers and soldiers, but in the wider market could power mobile phones, MP3 players and more. Beyond this, scientists are examining how energy-scavenging fabrics could convert low-frequency 25)vibrations into electricity, using 26)nanowires entwined with the fabric’s fibers to avoid affecting the look of the clothing.
不过,这仅仅是开始。十年之内,我们会看到商店销售能把我们变为移动发电站的衬衣。科学家们已经在开发可提取能量的织物了。这种织物通过内置纳米技术,利用穿者运动产生的动能,将其转换为供电子设备使用的电能——事实上,利用类似原理的运动手表现在已经在售。这样的装置能助徒步旅行者和士兵逃出生天;而且它还具有更广阔的市场,能够为手机、MP3播放器以及更多设备充电。除此之外,科学家们正在研究可提取能量的织物如何能将低频振动转变为电能,同时利用纳米电线与织物纤维混织,从而避免对衣服外观的影响。
Beyond the advantages for the consumer, science fashion could also help save the planet, or at the least provide solutions to some of the ecological and sustainability issues in today’s society. An interesting example of this is Suzanne Lee’s “bio-couture” project, which is investigating the use of 27)bacterial-28)cellulose, grown in a laboratory, to produce clothing: instead of using fibers from plants or animals, we could grow a dress in a 29)vat of liquid.
科学时尚不仅对消费者有利,还有助于拯救地球,或者至少可为当今社会面临的一些有关生态和可持续发展问题提供解决办法。其中一个有趣的例子是苏珊·李的“生态时装”项目。该项目研究如何利用实验室培育的细菌纤维素来制作衣服:我们可以在一大桶液体中“培育”衣服,而不是用来自植物或动物的纤维制品缝制衣服。
This may all seem like a distant dream, but it is not so far away. Science has long affected the way we dress, from the gradual improvement of wool and cotton production to the introduction of artificial fibers. In fact, some of these textile innovations are appearing on the catwalk. In 2008, 30)Hussein Chalayan brought his exquisite 31)LED dress to the catwalks of Tokyo. This video dress displayed a 32)time-lapsed image of a rose opening up and closing, with an array of colors and light, made possible by 15,000 LEDs 33)embedded in the fabric. Chalayan has also displayed clothes that changed shape before the spectator’s eyes: zippers closing, cloth 34)bunching and 35)hemlines rising without human assistance, thanks to the use of micro-controllers, switches and motors.
这也许看起来像是一个遥远的梦想,但是,它又并非那么遥远。科学长期以来影响着我们的着装,这从逐步改善的羊毛和棉花制品到人造纤维的研发可见一斑。事实上,有些纺织品创新技术正在登上时装表演的舞台。2008年,设计师侯赛因·卡拉扬把自己设计的发光二极管精致服装带到了东京的时装表演舞台上。这款视频服装展示了一幅慢速拍摄的影像——被植入衣服织物内的15000个发光二极管展现了一支玫瑰自如开合,伴随着一系列色彩和亮度变化。卡拉扬还展示了一款能在观众眼前改变形状的衣服:由于使用了微控制器、开关和电动机马达,拉链开合、衣服捆束和底边升起都无需借助人力。
In short, it is a 36)pivotal moment for textiles and Britain’s leading fashion science schools, such as those at Central Saint Martins and the 37)Royal College of Art, are leading the world in exciting design opportunities inspired by science. There is little doubt that these are exciting times for fashion and science.
简而言之,这是纺织品的关键时刻。英国主要的时尚科学院校,如中央圣马丁艺术与设计学院和皇家艺术学院,正在引领世界,抓住机会,一腔热忱地从科学领域寻求灵感,创新设计。毫无疑问,这些是时尚界和科学界都为之兴奋的时刻。
