Category: Blog

The term ‘textile’ comes from the Latin word ‘texere’ meaning ‘to weave’. Textile refers to a flexible material consisting of a web of natural or artificial fibers known as yarn. Textiles are created by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, and pressing the fibers together.

The Industrial Revolution, which emerged in the first half of the 18th century in England, first started in the field of cotton weaving. Spinning, which is one of the two parts of cotton weaving, has been done with simple hand spindles for centuries. Although spinning wheel models were facilitate yarn production in the Renaissance period, there was no technological innovation that would bring about a radical increase in yarn production until the 18th century (Leonardo also had designs on the spinning machine).

 

The revolution of place in weaving technology, which was the other part of weaving, before the technology of spinning. It is the Englishman John Kay who created this technology.  and created the ” flying shuttle “,  which speeds up production by automating the shuttle throwing process.

 

We can say that the flying shuttle started the industrial revolution in 1733.

 

In the face of the development of weaving technology and production, the backwardness and inadequacy of spinning technology have led this time to focus efforts on the mechanization of spinning. Because the existing yarn production could not meet the capacity of weaving production.

Carpenter and weaver James Hargreaves built the spinning machine in 1764, which he named the Spinner Jenny  (spinning Jenny)  (Jenny was her daughter’s name). A single spinner turning the arm of this machine could spin eight yarns at the same time. In other words, he was doing the work of eight spinners at the same time. When he produced and sold his machine in 1765, the spinners, fearing being out of work, attacked Hargreaves’ home and broke his machinery. Hargreaves was forced to flee from Lancashire to Nottingham. His machine, however, quickly spread. It is estimated that more than 20,000 machines were in use at home in England when Hargreaves died in 1778. Later, more technological mechanical looms were developed.

 

The number of mechanical looms in England was 2400 in 1813, 12150 in 1820, 45500 in 1829, and 85000 in 1833.

 

Although mechanization and automation in weaving technology were constantly developing until the end of the century, with the introduction of steam energy and steam machine into factories from the beginning of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution underwent a great transformation in terms of both production style and production scale, and this transformation not only produced technological results but also It also led to social changes.

Textile, the actor of the Industrial Revolution, continues to cause technological changes today.

 

Everything is smart these days. We have smartphones, smart watches, smart homes, and much more. But what if our clothes are smart? Smart textiles are fabrics created with technology that will provide additional benefits to the user. For example, a jacket that checks your phone or a shirt that monitors your heart rate. The possibilities are endless with this new technology.

 

It is not possible to talk about smart textiles without talking about electronic textiles. Electronic textiles are fabrics that contain some digital or electronic components. The difference between smart textiles and electronic fabrics is that smart textiles need to benefit them, in some way benefit the person wearing them.

 

We can give the example of CuteCircuit’s Hug shirt, which is currently available for purchase and uses smart textiles. A hug shirt is a shirt that recreates the feeling of human hugs. So if you are away from someone, you can use this app to hug someone wearing a shirt. The smart fabrics inside the t-shirt will keep you as tight as any of your friends. This product is getting more and more attention in times of pandemic and social distancing.

 

Smart textile fabric can be made from materials ranging from traditional cotton, polyester, and nylon to advanced Kevlar with integrated functionalities. The important thing is that the fabric has electrical conductivity.

 

There is a lot of research going on with smart fabrics, and in the future, designers will produce smart fabrics that can monitor vital signs, fatigue, hazardous substances, and much more. It seems that eventually. Our clothes will be more stylish than ours…

 

Smart textiles are created in collaboration with various research disciplines such as nanotechnology, materials science, clothing design, electronics, and computer engineering.

Globally, the smart textile market is expanding and holding a lot of promise.

 

RESOURCES

 

https://www.textileschool.com/182/history-of-textiles-ancient-to-modern-fashion-history/

Cumhuriyet Bilim Teknik, 3.11.12

https://fashinnovation.nyc/smart-fabrics-how-are-smart-textiles-made/#:~:text=But%20the%20start%20of%20smart,to%20clothes%20and%20power%20projects

We see the key components of success in the fashion industry as innovation and creativity. Technology today offers a multitude of options for innovation. It has become a part of life and allows us to experience everything instantly. As a result, the fashion industry has undergone a significant transformation in recent years; digital showrooms, digital design, and virtual runway shows have become part of everyday fashion businesses, but this requires a shift in mentality.

 

While technology is constantly getting smarter, it’s important to remember that people still need to learn. Only humans have creativity and imagination. It’s not enough just to have disruptive technology! Entrepreneurs need to industrialize it, commercialize it, and make it accessible to the world and consumers.

 

As Gucci President and CEO Marco Bizzarri said, ” Anyone can copy technology, but creativity comes from people”.

 

Both creativity and innovation are essential to be successful in the fashion industry and gain market share. It’s all about choosing the right balance between the two. For a company to survive, it must define a future purpose that fits in this world of still untapped potential. As a brand, you need to be culturally connected and focus on collaboration within communities.

 

Need-Problem

 

Needs to trigger creativity. Man shows his creative manifestations by idealizing individual aspirations and thoughts. Need is a motivating factor that drives knowledge seeking, problem-solving, and satisfaction. According to Santis and Lobach, “Human behavior is also driven by multiple and varied needs. “Necessity seeks satisfaction; the purpose is the spontaneous will to achieve something that comes from the idea of visualization. Purpose consists of the desire to achieve something attainable or unattainable. Needs and wants accompany the evolution of technology, information tools, and economic development.

Lobach states that design consists of a systematic design, plan, or method that involves problem-solving, including ideas, innovation, sketches, examples, and models, to make the solution found concrete.

For centuries, evolutionary needs have been accompanied by the development of tools, methods, and systems. Continuous evolution through research and events shows that innovative creativity plays a key role. The development of the human creative process has also pointed to various stories of failures, disappointments, and problems of creativity and innovation; Many researchers have been fascinated by creative inertia, difficulty in articulating ideas, fears and lack of innovation, and even seemingly unsolvable problems. Despite these problems, the creative process has become an important tool for resource development, and theories, techniques, and tools such as the promotion and organization of the creative process, Design Thinking, Design Methodology, and Creative Problem Solving Theory are explored. These techniques are applied to the development of textile products.

Ostrower states that the ability to understand, assimilate, construct and make sense is creative action. Creation is a way of establishing a new relationship between the human mind and the object to grasp or redefine the meaning, to give a new meaning, to give a new practice, to the ability to perceive an object with a different vision. Cognition (knowledge of facts), intelligence (logical thinking, communication, knowledge, sensitivity, problem-solving, emotional control, etc.), and innovation (creating something unknown) are a combination of the creative process.

The ability to innovate is a very important feature that makes the difference between a good textile engineer and an ordinary engineer. Higher education provides the industry with engineers and specialists who can manage complex technologies. The dynamics of the modern textile company are those who can anticipate opportunities, design original products, have new ideas and initiatives, etc. Requires creative engineers.

The main methods for developing creativity

 

Osborn’s direction – the aim is to make teamwork more efficient by reducing psychological inertia.

Motivational methods: brainstorming, synth, FDM (Basic Design Method), six thinking hats

Altshuller (TRIZ) aspect – the purpose is to use technical patents. It uses the database to generate new ideas.

 

Methods: identifying and resolving physical/technical contradictions, performing a contrasting experiment, using evolutionary patterns, creating an ideal model, using available resources, determining how to reproduce in the system and its environment, and observed phenomena.

Miles & Ishikawa’s direction – the goal is to reconstruct all available knowledge to apply it to the creation process.

Methods: Value engineering, morphological analysis, QFD (Quality Function Distribution), fishbone diagram.

 

An engineer can work as an individual or as part of a team. Teams can more easily access creative solutions and innovations.

 

Learn to work together and practice the “ready-to-go” state. A company with a strong culture of creativity has several innovation teams looking for new ideas for innovative products, processes, and administrative activities.

To meet the new type of consumer coming from communication and social changes, manufacturers try to harmonize existing needs with functionality and aesthetics by creating values ​​that can be applied to technological fabrics.

 

A brand needs to understand the WHAT, WHY, HOW, and WHERE of consumers. You can reach consumers with a modern and authentic spirit that creates the positive power of the collective by keeping the product purpose in mind, breaking through barriers with new ideas, and pushing creative and innovative boundaries for a better future for our planet.

 

RESOURCES

https://lupinepublishers.com/fashion-technology-textile-engineering/fulltext/creative-process-in-the-design-and-creation-of-textile-manufacture.ID.000109.php

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273143547_CREATIVITY_-_A_DRIVING_FORCE_FOR_TEXTILE_COMPANIES_DEVELOPMENT/link/54fa17670cf2040df21b1b9e/download

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/technology-fashion-between-creativity-innovation-daniel-grieder/

The TechXtile Start-Up Challenge program, the fourth of which started this year, aims to bring technologies that can be applied to textiles to the industry, ensure commercialization, and bring a techno-entrepreneur that will add more value to the Turkish economy.

 

The program, which has been carried out as the R&D Project market since 2008 under the direction of Uludağ Textile Exporters  Association (UTİB) has been transformed into the TechXtile Start-Up Challenge program as of 2019. With this transformation, the textile sector, which has become multidisciplinary, has the potential to catch up with the rapidly changing technology in the world, mature and grow the ideas of qualified techno-entrepreneurs; It is aimed to provide the necessary support for it to become a viable, scalable and sellable enterprise.

 

Following the closing of the applications, the participants who receive entrepreneurship training pass the pre-assessment. The process continues with pitching training for the semi-final preparations after the pre-qualification. After the semi-finals, the initiatives that make it to the final are determined and one-on-one mentoring meetings begin. Advanced pitching training is given for startups that will make a presentation before the award ceremony.

Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to present their projects and network in the program, in which prominent figures from Turkey’s various sectors in the field of entrepreneurship, industrialists, business people, investors, and professional managers take part as a jury.

 

Contest applications are made in one of two categories:

 

Level-Up | Idea Stage Entrepreneur Category (Individual or Team Entrepreneurs, Academics, Entrepreneur Candidates)

It is aimed at entrepreneurs who are developing a product or service that will meet the expectations of their customers at a basic level, yet idea stage. This category aims to support the transformation process of innovation and commercialization of potential business ideas into products.

Scale-Up | Product & Service Developed Entrepreneur Category (Individual or Team Entrepreneurs, Start-Up Companies, Academics)

Entrepreneurs who have passed the idea stage and have developed a product or service with the potential for commercialization and scaling compete. The most important requirement is that entrepreneurs have already established their ventures before applying for the program. This category aims to enable early-stage startups with the potential to be successful in the market by supporting their Product/Market compatibility discovery processes and networking.

Evaluation principles, the details of which are included in the competition specifications; feasibility, sellability, scalability, technology and innovation dimension of the business idea, and the capacity of the team; It consists of competency and experience criteria.

Although the valuable awards given to the finalists in both categories are detailed in the competition specifications, among the women entrepreneurs who applied for Techxtile to encourage women entrepreneurship and to bring more female business people into the economy, if they have an existing company or a new company will be established; The Women Entrepreneur Special Award is also given to enterprises with 50% or more shareholding.

TechXtile Start-Up Challenge Program, which offers networking opportunities and valuable awards in a giant competition atmosphere, invites entrepreneurs to gain support from the business world and experience TechXtile.