Fashion designers seem to live in a world of their own when creating practical clothing. We have all seen those monstrosities strolling down the catwalk at the shows. Not to be left out in the solar energy wave they are now designing clothing ranges with integrated photovoltaic cells.
The clothing range from the typical outrage that we expect from the catwalk down to something that could work but will fall apart in the washing machine. To start off we have the semi practical solar vests or jackets. Readers will be happy to know that we do not have to carry around a 6 foot solar panel on our backs. This clothing range uses the thin film solar technology for its solar collection. The panel or panels are usually held in pockets on the back, arms or front of the coat for easy removal and replacement. Wiring sewn in to the clothing feeds the energy to more pockets that you may keep your electronic gadgets stored and topped up with power.
To maximize the solar energy like all solar panels, the cells must be orientated towards the sun. This might mean to generate some power you will have to walk backwards. Nobody will notice.
Hats and Caps are not immune. There are cooling caps that have little inbuilt fans to cool down your face which charges itself from a solar cell, usually mounted on the brim. The fan whirling in front of your face might just be a little too annoying to be useful here.
Nice tie! Not even the tie is immune to the clutches of designers. Office workers will soon be seen holding their ties outstretched horizontal to maximize the solar charge or their latest iPhone.
Probably the most impractical design is the solar underwear. Probably the clothing that gets the least exposure to sunlight has not escaped the clutched of the solar fashion designer.
The medical downside of some of these designs is that you have to expose yourself to the sun to get those solar panels working. The low efficiency of the cells means the time exposed to the Ultra Violet rays could increase your chances of developing skin cancer.
A possible development for the future is solar fabric, instead of integrating panels or cells onto the clothing the actual threads will be solar generators. While clothing still might not be the best goal of this, a better use would be tents, marquees, umbrellas or shades that are in constant exposure to the sun. We can still expect designers to come up with crazy solar powered clothing ideas with this new material.
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