Flying miles in the air over the plains of Kansas, I would have glanced at the plane wing and think of it as just another heavy piece of mechanical metal. Now, after understanding the concepts of Biomimicry, the idea of a “simple” plane wing completely shifts to a more complex meaning. A birds wing being aerodynamic and capable of steady flight, allows the animal to travel far distances similar to a plane. This is Biomimicry. The textile usage of Biomimicry differs from the larger mechanical products. An individual would not attach feathers to a sweater and suddenly begin flying in mid-air. Instead, the skydiving equipment used to glide through air would make more sense. I found much interest in the textile use of animals and insects with wings. One article that I found particularly interesting was the butterfly wings and their reflective wing scales. In textiles, researchers are trying to copy the idea of these solar cell scales and turn it into dye-sensitized cells for better efficiency and to make cost cheaper. Overall, the concept of Biomimicry is quite intriguing and provides answers to many of the items we use or wear. These ideas have helped us evolve in every type of industry worldwide.

http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/biomimicry-breakthrough-butterfly-wings-could-lead-to-better-solar-panels.html

Over the past week or so in one of my college courses we have been discussing what exactly it means to dress, and just recently we moved on to discus bio-mimicry and if/how it can also be considered a form of dress. What I’ve learned through research and in class discussions is that there is nothing better than looking at the world and creatures around us. Considering that animals have been on this earth as long if not longer than humans and have with stand the test of time it only makes perfect since. Going back to the first time I heard about Bio-mimicry in my college class I thought Bio-mimicry was just the make up of humans being inspired by animals, for example Gore-Tex and Fast-skins. Yes these are great examples of bio-mimicry, but just a small piece to the puzzle. After doing more thorough research I learned that it could be the make-up of energy and other forms/aspects of electricity or even the simplest forms of life such as the way nature absorbs light, all of which are components of bio-mimicry. And example of this would be outerwear that transpires like trees. Páramo’s, a outerwear company designed waterproof jackets that feature technology inspired fabric by the transpiration activity of trees. Motivated by the pore-like openings in plant foliage, collectively known as stomata, open and close to release water vapor into the air. The water loss causes the plant to access carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, causing it to cool itself when mercury levels rise. Nature is much more profound than we think and bio-mimicry goes deeper than just plants and animals. Looking further into bio-mimicry I even found that it is making a surge on the fashion runways. Bio-mimicry inspires designers to also create astonishing, abstract runway designs; a great example of this would be Diana Eng’s “Miura Ori” scarf that was designed like unfurling beech and hornbeam leaves in an origami pattern. Creating a breathable, capacious design. Link: http://www.ecouterre.com/10-eco-fashion-garments-inspired-by-nature-and-biomimicry/