Q+A with Rebecca Pailes-Friedman of Interwoven Design
Just before the holidays, we sat down with Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman, founder of Interwoven Design. Interwoven Design is a multi-disciplinary product design and development studio based in Brooklyn, NY that specializes in wearable technology and smart textile solutions. The design studio defines itself as “the bridge between fashion, engineering, materials science, and product design.” We are privileged to have had the opportunity to speak with such a dynamic industry figure as Rebeccah, and we look forward to seeing all that is to come for Interwoven!
Q: HOW DID INTERWOVEN GET ITS START? WHAT WAS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE FIRM?
A: I started Interwoven after a 20+ year career designing sports apparel and products. After holding design leadership positions at Fila, Champion and Nike, I saw that the timeline needed to develop truly innovative products didn't necessarily line up with the corporate product development timeline. It takes a lot more trial and error, testing, and iteration to produce new products--products that move the needle and redefine or create new categories. Once I identified this need, it was easy to go out on my own and offer this service to my clients. I now work with clients from startups like HeroWear, to research groups like NASA and Vanderbilt University, to global apparel companies like VF and Kontoor Brand.
Q: WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS DO YOU WORK ON?
A: Everything we create focuses on the body and improving performance without sacrificing comfort and aesthetics. We are fortunate to have a group of incredibly diverse and collaborative clients to partner with, as we help them develop new innovative products. Our specialty is wearable technology, with a focus on products worn on the body that combine soft and hard goods. We have worked in healthcare, sports medicine, athletics, and industrial products. Currently we are working on a back-assist exosuit, a medical brace, and a patentable closure for adaptive undergarments.
Q: FAVORITE PROJECT YOU HAVE WORKED ON AND WHY?
A: For the past 3 years, we have been collaborating with a group from Vanderbilt University and the startup HeroWear on designing and developing the Apex; a passive back-assist exosuit that helps active workers reduce back strain by comfortably assisting them during repetitive lifting and bending tasks. The project is now evolving, as we look to adapt this technology for other industries from supporting healthcare workers, to last-mile delivery workers and even possibly the US Military. One of the reasons I am so passionate about this product is that it is the first exosuit designed for women. I am a big supporter of women in industrial design and designing for the needs of women in the workplace. This ongoing project brings these two passions together.
Q: HOW LARGE OF A ROLE DO E-TEXTILES PLAY IN YOUR WORK?
A: Although I have a huge passion for e-textiles (in 2017 I authored the book Smart Textiles for Designers, Inventing the Future of Fabric) we haven't used them in a project for a large-scale application yet. Some of our most recognized work that uses e-textiles, is performative. We did a series of e-textile ballet costumes that respond to the dancers movements, and we have proposed a new light emitting textile, Lumanit, using an engineered knitting process. Both projects explore the use of e-textiles to better connect people to their environment.
Q: IN YOUR EYES, HOW DO E-TEXTILES IMPROVE PRODUCT DESIGN?
A: I absolutely love that fabric can be embedded with the ability to conduct electricity, complete circuits, and become a second smart sk;in for our bodies. I see e-textiles leading a whole new category of products that offer a seamless user interaction--eliminating the ubiquitous iPhone app--and just letting us live a better-connected life without a device glued to our hand.
Q: WHERE DO YOU SEE E-TEXTILES IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? DO YOU THINK LARGER COMPANIES WILL BE INTEGRATING THEM INTO THEIR PRODUCTS?
A: You can already see that large companies are integrating e-textiles into their high-end products. Like heated jackets and footwear, jackets that streamline communication and connection without devices, and for capturing our experiences to share with friends and family over social media. We are starting to see a ground swell of new innovations on the horizon and the dawn of a new age in textiles.