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Sowon´s wearable toy is clothing which incorporates an implanted device, which consists a sensor, and a fan, inside the garment that can be detached when needed. As the wearer moves, the implanted sensor reacts to the movement, causing the garment to billow into balloon-like shapes. Inspiration for the changing shapes of the garments comes from the children’s movements themselves.

In the production part of her work, the garments were developed to converge with the desired technology. The device can be detached from the garments and also change the shape of the clothing according to children’s jump and spin movements. In order to describe the design process, material selections as well as the shape and color of the collection were detailed. Lastly, the final outcomes focus not only on the technical development, but also on the visual aesthetics of the design collection.

Sowon Lee´s master thesis presents ‘smart clothing in children’s fashion’ with six outfits: three main pieces of garments with detachable technological devices functioning as wearable toys and another three outfits to support the main garments. This study has its significance in its re-examination of smart clothing as emotionally enjoyable toys for children, while retaining practical and washable features. “Through this work, I explore my design identity as a fashion designer by connecting the emotions and wonder of children with technology using clothing as my medium."

Sowon Lee
Master’s thesis 2017, ‘Wearable Toys : smart clothing in children’s fashion’

Fashion and Collection Design


Department of Design
Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture