The technology behind Bella Hadid’s spray-on dress

[hn_throwaway_99]

I'm really interested in how they made this a "dress" and not "pants". That is, from the Instagram video, Bella Hadid comes out completely naked except for underwear. You can see as they're spraying that she's keeping her legs close together, but still in the final scene where the assistant cuts the slit up the side, the dress then hangs like a "normal" fitted evening gown. I feel like they must have skipped over some parts about how they kept this "silly string" from getting stuck between her legs.

[amflare]

In the video it looks like one of the assistants sprays across the front of her legs, but from the side, so that a lot of strands are crossing the gap in her legs. Only then they moved around the front and started applying over these supporting strands.

[henryfjordan]

It looks like she stands with her legs pressed very close together so that there's not really a chance for the material to form a pant leg. Towards her ankles it looks like pants do start to form but are cleaned up by assistants:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz_ltPAzuJI

I imagine you are correct that there were a few steps/techniques not shown in the video.

[dfxm12]

Her legs were close enough together & the stuff was being sprayed at such an angle that it wasn't wrapping around individual legs in any meaningful ways.

[323]

Maybe it's both, as in the substance completely fills all the available space, like a triangular wedge. We can't really see the underneath of the dress.

[intrasight]

I was wondering if she had a transparent "wrap" on her thighs.

[conductr]

If it's like fiberglass you can shoot it thicker to create a bridge of webbing, then spray finer material over that base webbing and essentially create a fabric

[bigwavedave]

All I can think of are the "spray-on shoes" from "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs".

[dools]

All I can think of is the spray on swim suit in Futurama which is more or less exactly this.

“How do I look?” “Like a cheap French harlot” “French!?”

[m463]

What about the makeup applicator device in the 5th element?

[neogodless]

Came here to see if anyone else was getting a strong Silly String vibe. So far, no. It really looks like it to me, except I suspect a lot more adhesive (to itself) than Silly String, while remaining "not too adhesive" to skin.

[Promyvion]

From the article: “Originally, the spray-on dress started with a can of silly string. “I thought I could create a mist,” mentions Torres in a 2013 TED Talk. “That was the eureka moment.” he adds. The technology can be used in fashion to not only create dresses like done on Hadid, but also to repair any damaged items.”

[jrumbut]

Silly string was my first thought because my friends and I used to try (semi successfully) to make costumes applying it like they do. It worked best with a near empty can when it comes out fragmented like in the video.

Now if only we had been more glamorous about it we could have beaten this company by 30 years!

[_0w8t]

Somebody still reads «Return from the stars» by Stanisław Lem. Spray-on clothes were part of Lem’s version of the future.

[cwp]

I thought of "superskin" in Heinlein's Friday.

[mmcdermott]

That was my first association as well.

[hinkley]

If I'm not mistaken it also shows up in Earth by David Brin.

[cobertos]

Any risk of inhaling those fibers becoming an issue in the lungs? Wouldn't want this sprayed on me and it found out to have the health effects that asbestos does.

[enriquec]

They used "sprayable non-woven" fabric like fabrican (it was on the discovery channel in 2013 apparently: https://youtu.be/nKZuPPjoxHQ)

[Doxin]

As a reference point: the protective bags around monitors and other easily scratched products tend to be "non woven fabric". If you look closely you can see the fibers are going every which way, instead of being in a regular pattern like woven or knitted fabrics.

[axiolite]

Highly flammable!

I avoid synthetic fabrics to begin with because in a fire they turn to melted plastic and cause instant 3rd degree burns. Natural fabrics will char, protecting you a little bit in the process, and simply not make your injuries any worse. This spray fabric is sure to be far worse, an absolute nightmare in the event of fire.

[kortex]

Are you a fire performer, chemist, or otherwise intend on being around fire a lot, or is this just a general precaution?

I mean, I do the same, but that's cause I play with fire on a regular basis, and haven't met anyone outside those circles who care about such features as char vs melt.

[tantalor]

Article says the material can be natural e.g. cotton/linen.

Those are flammable too, I guess...

I would simply stay away from open flames when wearing this dress.

[jupp0r]

I always cringe when I see people wearing fleece jackets sitting super close to a camp fire thinking exactly that.

[Lendal]

They mention the obvious medical uses like spray-on casts and spray-on bandages, but what about spray-on physical restraints? Or spray-on condoms? Get creative, think outside the box.

[tantalor]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spray-on_condom

> The biggest problem, however, was that the drying process took 2–3 minutes before the condom was dry enough to use, which was too long to be truly marketable.

[conductr]

I'd rather have a functional web shooter than any practical use

[make3]

I feel like focusing to spray your organ with sufficient coverage is way more complicated than just slipping a regular condom on

[insane_dreamer]

> spray-on sterile bandages from aerosol cans

this sounds very useful so you don't need to have bandages of different shapes/sizes in your first aid kit

[spicybright]

Look into liquid bandages. It's exactly this and is already available at every drug store. Comes as a little nail polish-style bottle + brush.

It sterilizes and seals, pretty much replacing my whole bandaid kit I used to keep in my pocket book.

I'll even buy a bunch at a time and give them out to friends. It's so useful yet no one knows about it.

(That said, you won't be sealing bullet wounds or giant gashes with it)

[caseysoftware]

If this can be de-composed and reconstituted, it starts to look like a Star Trek replicator. It could have some wild implications for fashion where "yesterday's" style can be remade into tomorrow's trendsetting look overnight.

[Tao3300]

> integrated with diagnostic devices that can monitor the health of the wearer

Wtf? What grim meathook future establishment would involve wearing spray-on smart clothes that monitor my vitals? Need to know so I don't accidentally go in there.

[scheme271]

There's a lot of people that would find that useful. I.e. diabetics that need to monitor blood sugar levels comes to mind but I'm sure there are other medical conditions were it'd be helpful to continuously monitor some vitals. Fall sensors for people that are prone to falling and who might need help if they fall is also another use case.

[boomboomsubban]

Athletes were my first thought.

[JoeAltmaier]

They created a traditional design. But that design is what it is, because of limits of fabric and construction. I'd like to see what could be reimagined using this - strapless, or interlocking, or multiple-tiled-pieces, or what? Let's see no more ordinary strap-over-the-shoulder sheath dresses.

[happyopossum]

Strapless dresses are already a thing, and a well worn (no pun intended) path at that.

[dredmorbius]

The 2013 Fabrican video mentioned elsewhere in this thread shows designs that are not strictly form-fitting. I'd describe them as "floral".

[annoyingnoob]

Closets of the future look more like a paint booth?

Step into the booth, press the button. First, the spray-on tan, then a quick dry, then spray on clothes.

Step into the booth again at the end of the day to wash it all off and recycle it for tomorrow.

[conductr]

Sherwin-Williams logo and tag line says it all, "Cover the Earth"

[skc]

Curious what happens when you sit down and chafe it

[ck2]

What happens when the model and the people applying that "fine mist" inhale it.

Because they definitely inhaled some of that.

[phpthrowaway99]

What if it's just liquid gelatin? People eat it. What's wrong with spraying a gummy bear onto someone?

[gonzo41]

I wonder what propellent they used? I can imagine getting head spins from having all that polymer off gassing there.

[blamazon]

The applicator looks to me a lot like a HVLP (high volume low pressure) gravity fed paint applicator, which I have used to spray automotive paint. In that scenario, compressed air is used as propellant.

Example: https://www.johnsonautobodysupply.com/meiji-air-gravity-feed...

[phpthrowaway99]

The propellent is just regular air, compressed to maybe 20-80 psi. I'd be more worried about the solvents that make this sprayable but then dry within minutes.

[Gatsky]

That was surprisingly banal. So much less interesting than this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErE7O5NceGQ

Surely they could have used drones with leering red LEDs to apply the material.

Alexander McQueen was one of a kind.

[fortran77]

I wonder if the same technology can be used for an improved version of spray-on hair

[theflyingelvis]

It’s all fun and games until someone messes up and uses fiberglass.

[Freak_NL]

Intriguing. Probably not well suited for models with arachnophobia though.

I wonder how strong the resulting layer is. The should straps being adjusted in the video show that it's definitely not weak.

[birdman3131]

Depends on what variant of arachnophobia they have. Many are more afraid of the spiders and not the webs themselves.