Have you ever wanted to make your own clothes but don’t have the sewing skills? Well, now you can actually spray on your clothes! You may remember the viral video circulating during the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 of supermodel Bella Hadid getting a white slip dress literally spray-painted onto her on the catwalk. (It definitely too the attention away from Balenciaga’s mud catwalk!)
That “fabric” is called Fabrican. Once sprayed onto any surface, including liquids, the Fabrican material dries up instantly and results in a non-woven fabric layer!
How does Fabrican work?
Much like a spider web, the spray is made from small fibres blended with polymers. A solvent that deliver the fabric in liquid form disappears as soon it touches a surface. The web of the cloth is thin, but you can achieve your desired thickness by using multiple layers. The best part is that other materials, such as wool, linen or acrylic, as well as colours and perfumes, can also be added to it! Talk about a versatile fabric.
Fabrican was established in 2003 by Dr. Manel Torres, who studied fashion at the Royal College of Art in London.
It marks a new frontier in material science, since it means that apparel designers don’t need to cut, stitch and fit the material. Anyone who can’t sew can now make new, personalised clothes. You can spray it on the body directly for that ultra-hugging shirt or jeans, or to create tailored sportswear. Imagine streetwear created with Fabrican.
You can also spray it onto a frame to create interesting shapes.
Spray-on fabric also means you can do easy alterations – for example, you can fix holes or tears in existing clothing easily! Plus, you can even put the clothing back into the bottle of its original solution to regenerate.
In addition to fashion, the technology provides new horizons for anything requiring a fabric coating, including furniture upholstery. It can also be very useful in medicine: imagine spray-on medical dressings, bandages, hygiene wipes, and more. The best part is that it doesn’t exert much pressure if you’re applying bandage on burnt skin, and the material is sterilised so drugs can be added into the material for healing.
Fabrican is revolutionary because the possibilities are limitless. Who says fashion is superficial?
