Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2001 - 71

Techno Textiles:
Revolutionary Fabrics for Fashion
and Design
By Sarah E. Braddock and Marie O'Mahony, New York: Thames
and Hudson Inc. 1999. ISBN 0-500-28096-7, 192 pages, 269 illustrations with 142 in color, index, $29.95 (softbound). Also
available: 1997. ISBN 0-500-23740-9, $50.00 (hardbound).
If you've missed recent exhibitions of fashion, interior and architectural textile innovation at the Museum of Modern Art,
the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum and related venues, Techno
Textiles will get you up to speed. Inside you'll find the latest

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developments being shown at museums, on the runway and
used in and outside of buildings. If you want to know the basic
properties of fabrics like Tencel and Tyvek without learning
the chemistry, here's the perfect text. Like a collection of
manufacturers' white papers on a textiles theme, Braddock
and O'Mahony give an overview of new fabrics and processes
for making them.
Even the less technically inclined can enjoy the book's visuals. Illustrations clearly showing the fabrics' texture and
drape are one of Techno Textiles' strengths. Some
earlier books on textile technology, that Braddock
and O'Mahony quote, use drawn copies of photographs for illustrations that barely approximate the
materials. The black and white and color photos in
Techno Textiles show the construction of garments,
fabrics and architectural structures, as clearly as
you can get without actually seeing and feeling these
objects.
The book is divided into three parts. Part I: Innovations takes a trip through the new fabrics and
processes for making them. Frequently the authors
cite experts who use the fabrics/processes in their
work. Part II: Transformations looks at how artists,
designers and technicians use these materials in
fashion, interior design, entertainment scenery, artworks, textiles, structural and environmental engineering and architecture. Part III: Resources is
useful with the text or on its own. Braddock and
O'Mahony offer a glossary of technical terms, give
brief biographies-histories of designers and companies cited in the book then list their contact information. They give contact information for
institutions worldwide that have galleries or collections of these new textiles and include a bibliography of books, conference and academic papers,
magazine articles and Web sites.
The authors make interesting stops on their
journey through the contemporary world of technically inventive fabrics and fibers. Visiting everything
that could be made of or covered with cloth, they
cite novels, movies and other popular culture
genres to show that the innovations are not so new,
at least in theory. They also look at inspirations for
these new textile creations in the natural world.
Braddock and O'Mahony step into "Smart" clothes
that help the wearer negotiate their environment;
load Computer Aided Design programs for creating
fabric prints and embroidery; blow air into inflatable rock concert sets; and follow non-woven textiles from clothing interfacing to erosion control.
Leaving earth, they describe how space suits work
and are worn, including a photograph of the innards. If you've ever wondered how astronauts-

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 2001