Rips, tears, stains, holes and patches…. these are some of the marks left behind that tell a story for an item of clothing. There is physical evidence, wear and tear, a history. I wonder how this idea can be incorporated into wearables using technology. The History Tablecloth 
was created as part of the Equator Project with the Royal College of Art’s Interaction Design Research Department. The table cloth draws attention to the flow of objects over a surface in the home by signalling how long things have been left upon it. If an object is left on the table for a while, a glowing halo forms beneath it that grows slowly over time, until the object is moved. It uses electroluminescent inks printed onto a flexible substrate.
The project has me wondering: “what happens if an article of clothing can tell a story like this?” Besides the blemishes in the fabric, how else can a wearable display its history? What else can clothing tell us? What interesting secrets can articles of clothing keep? And how can we allow the clothing to express itself?
