Reporter

Fabricating the future

16 September 2010

Dr Manel Torres (Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology) is goggled-up and spraying intently with an aerosol, stopping occasionally to check the temperature of a row of beakers full of polymers. From his ease in the laboratory, you’d never suspect that his title relates to a fashion degree and that, 10 years ago, he swapped his designer wear for a white smock to fulfil his dream of creating the future.

Manel has always been obsessed with the future and, as a child, he often escaped into sci-fi films, which fuelled his active imagination. “There are no limits to how far you can take things when you’re looking into the future – you can literally create your own world,” he explains. Coming from a traditional Spanish village called Tornabous in Catalonia – the streets lined with apple and pear trees – he certainly wasn’t influenced by his rural environment but instead by his grandma, who was the village seamstress. Leaving home at the age of 16, he decided to follow his dream of determining what the public will wear in the future and becoming a fashion designer.

Manel started a BA in women’s fashion at Escuela de Artes Tecnicas de la Moda in Barcelona in 1994 and designed a collection based on the theme of ‘life in the year 2020’. To research his designs, he talked to sociologists to find out what everyday life would look like in the future, went to technology conferences and heard about emerging trends, like online shopping and 3D technology, and spoke to fortune tellers to hear their speculations about life in the new millennium. Then he combined all his findings into his designs.

Seed of an idea

With his degree behind him, Manel was accepted onto an MA in Fashion Women’s Wear at the Royal College of Art (RCA) and he moved to London in 1995.

During his studies, Manel’s curiosity about the future never waned. “I felt like everything in the world was speeding up and information was becoming instantly accessible but the fashion industry was lagging behind – design is still such a long-winded process,” he explains. “I was intent on finding a way to speed up the process of manufacturing patterns without compromising on quality or comfort.”

It’s a good illustration and reminder of how we can all apply scientific principles to produce surprising and sometimes beautiful results.

In 1996, Manel attended the wedding of two of his friends back in Barcelona and, alongside the traditional confetti and rice that guests were throwing at the newly weds, a couple of people sprayed silly string. “Watching them spray suddenly triggered an idea,” Manel remembers. “I realised that if string could be produced in a can, why couldn’t I do the same thing with fabric?”

Manel went on to do a PhD at the RCA, with the aim of producing a spray-on fabric T-shirt from an aerosol can. Under the supervision of Dr Susannah Handley, Manel began his research by looking at what spray-on products were already on the market: from spray-on plasters to spray-on leggings. “It was so exciting to discover that, despite the brand names, none of the products actually sprayed a solid product from a can. It confirmed I’d come up with a truly futuristic idea!”

Coming to Imperial

Once Manel had a formal plan and had spoken with a number of product designers, he decided to call upon academics at Imperial, located around the corner from the RCA, for some scientific advice. Here, he was fortunate to meet Professor Paul Luckham, Professor of Particle Technology (Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology), who agreed to supervise Manel’s PhD as a technical advisor and gave him lab space to work on the project.

“Manel emailed me about his idea and I thought it was an absolutely brilliant concept,” says Paul. “While I knew that the process was chemically possible, I had no idea how to get the formulation to work in an aerosol but we agreed to give it a go.”

Paul advised Manel to perfect the formulation and make a prototype using a less complex type of spray, before focusing on getting the liquid into an aerosol.

“Paul totally embraced my idea,” says Manel, “and his knowledge of polymers has been invaluable. But the best thing about the project is that, he allowed me to be myself, get to know the lab and to live out my project in the way I envisaged.”

To create the right formulation, they milled down old fabrics and mixed the fibres with a polymer to bind them together. Then a solvent was added that evaporates before it hits the surface, so that the spray turns into a solid on contact.

Like with all research projects, there was a lot of trial and error in their experiments – but by 2000, Manel was able to use a car paint spray gun to project a thin fabric onto a mannequin, which could be peeled off seconds later, leaving a washable, seamless, non-woven top. With Paul’s help, Manel had proved that his concept could be made a reality and was able to complete his PhD.

New way of dressing

Since then, Manel has remained at Imperial as an academic visitor, working on getting the formulation to work as an aerosol with Paul’s help. He has also been experimenting with a range of fibres, including lace and rubber, as well as adding dyes using nanoparticles of colour. In 2008, he achieved a working prototype for spray-on fabric in a can.

“Spray-on fabric will allow people to change their clothes instantly to meet the latest fashion trend and also allow them to make quick alterations. It’s a totally new way of dressing,” he explains. The technique has already been picked up by the film industry and Manel was brought in to spray outfits onto the stars of the forthcoming blockbuster Mr Nobody.

Fabrican

While the original idea was to utilise spray-on fabric in the fashion industry, Manel and Paul realised that the technology had an even broader appeal. “From the first time we experimented with spraying it directly onto human skin it applied easily and peeled off cleanly. I thought that if it worked for such a challenging application, we could make it work anywhere,” explains Manel. In 2000 Manel and Paul set up a company called Fabrican to help commercialise the product.

Paul says: “I see the fashion application of spray-on fabric as a fantastic way of advertising the material as a concept, but I think the other applications are going to prove to be even more commercial.”

Fabrican is now beginning to establish long-term development agreements with multinational industries – for example, the pair were contacted by an automotive company, which wants to use the formula for upholstery or interior surface repair or renewal. And there are also exciting potential applications for spray-on fabric in the field of medicine – as the formula is kept in a sterilised can and is very cold on application, which means it could be useful for burns victims and also for new types of patches or slow release drug products.

Fabrican is a clear example of the scope of successful multidisciplinary partnerships at Imperial. As Deputy Rector and Principal of the Faculty of Engineering, Stephen Richardson, says: “Paul and Manel’s collaboration represents many of the characteristics that define research at Imperial, such as creative ideas, and novel products. Their work has opened up a new area of research in the Department, and is a popular stopping-off point for visitors and students at open days. It’s a good illustration and reminder of how we can all apply scientific principles to produce surprising and sometimes beautiful results.”

— Emily Ross, Communications and Development

Tags: Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology, Fabrican, Faculty of Engineering, News
Posted in College, Research | 2 Comments »

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