Air quality is a problem here in the United States, especially in California which has the dubious honor of having the most air pollution in country. Designer and innovator Nikolas Bentel hasn’t developed a solution for air pollution, but he has created a piece of clothing that combines fashion and technology to detect it.
Bentel is currently selling three long sleeved shirts in the Aerochromics line. Each shirt reveals a different air pollutant: carbon monoxide, radioactivity, and particle pollution. The shirts are injected with dye that changes color when the person wearing it is exposed to these harmful pollutants at high levels. Once the air quality is safe, the color of the shirt goes back to its original state, except for the one that detects radioactivity which will not change back and you’ll have to rip it off of your body and dispose of it instantly. Bentel told Quartz,“Everyone should be living in good air conditions and not moderate conditions.” He also said that his goal is not sales, but rather to “spread awareness.”
The shirts themselves are each designed with Keith Haring-esque patterns that are in vogue right now. Both the carbon monoxide and particle pollution shirts are $500 and the radioactive shirt is $625, but is currently unavailable. Bentel is also selling the shirts sans cool technology as well if you simply like his designs.
(Via Quartz)
