Wearable Solar is a budding clothing line founded by Gelderland Valoriseer’s Christiaan Holland, fashion designer Pauline van Dongen, and solar-panel specialist Gertjan Jongerden, who’s aim to make garments that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are to use. The team’s initial prototypes—a coat and a dress derived from leather and wool—feature a series of solar-powered flaps that unfurl in the sunlight. Alternatively, the sections fold away “invisibly” when not in use.
Van Dongen says she based her designs on human skin cells, which show a similar layering. Some of the modules contain up to 48 individual solar cells, allowing a typical smartphone gain a 50 percent charge after an hour’s exposure in the full sun.
