kestrel

Prompt 110: New Fashion Trends

[NOTE: I used the Squibler "Most Dangerous Writing App" to kick-start this entry. I learned about it just today, wanted to give it a try, and I like it. Plus, I wasn't really feeling the original prompt and needed a nudge to write something about it, and -keep- writing.]

110. The musician Madonna inspired multiple fashion trends from her music videos in the 80s. If you could inspire a new fashion trend, what would it be and why? How would you make sure the trend caught on?
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I'd like to see a way for women to be able to electrify their clothing at will. It would be a way to make a statement, and also to protect themselves.

I was first thinking that I would want to bring back spiked clothing. I envisioned something like banks of spikes and hazardous metal pointed projections on the asses of womens' jeans. However, that seems like it would make sitting problematic. Were you to see spikes on clothing, it's usually on armbands, wristbands, neckbands/chokers, shoulders and back panels of jackets... Not somewhere that requires they be sat upon.

So instead of spikes I began thinking of other things that would fit within the same context. Not so much the quills of a porcupine, but maybe... A hard shell? Maybe the softer tentacles of the jellyfish?

So then my thinking shifted to technological advancements, that would still provide the same kind of hazardous and/or protective quality that spikes normally could. I think that with the current level of technological advancement, a type of clothing could be developed that integrated this electric-shock application with USB- or near-field-charged battery life of a few hours: the equivalent of a night out at the club.

The general idea of the clothing would be a way for women to repel typical, unwelcome male advances. When a guy puts his hands on a woman who has activated her electrified clothing, he would feel a mild-but-still-irritating shock to deter him. It would be the equivalent of an electric fence, or similar to those "invisible fence" dog collars. There would be an initial pulse or series of pulses as a warning, but then if someone doesn't let go, they'll receive a more persistent, higher-voltage shock.

The clothing would need to be noticeable and conspicuous, so that anyone approaching the wearer would know that any unwelcome touch would be met with a shock. Since I personally have the fashion sense of a warthog (seriously, I personally dress very simple and unremarkable most of the time), I'd leave the actual fabric design up to a talented textiles fashion designer. I imagine this, however, as a kind of overcoat or jacket with a thin silicone or other non-conducive layer that prevents electric shock from affecting the wearer. It would need to be porous so as to allow breathability and prevent the wearer from becoming uncomfortably warm. Maybe there would be metal mesh patches on the jacket - on the shoulders or back panel, as well as covering the buttocks - that make it obvious that the clothing can be electrified.

The distinctive look of the clothing would serve a double purpose: fashion discretion to help it stand out from other club clothing of the same type, and as a visual warning for others to keep their distance. Wearers could activate and power-down the deterrent with a simple touch of a button or slider mechanism on the jacket's cuff.

One of the best innovations? Near-field, attuned immunity. Groups of friends could sit together at the club, give errant touches of the clothing or other parts of their bodies, as long as they wore a "friend" accessory tuned to the electric clothes. This could be a slender bracelet with integrated sensors or chips. I'm not sure how this would work, but the concept is that the wearer of the electric clothing won't have to continually turn on and turn off their electric field when around their friends. All they need to do is give their friend a chip tuned to their jacket, and the electric shock isn't triggered.