URBANPRIVACY

URBANPRIVACY not only combines fashion and technology, but also addresses an issue that is often overlooked: privacy. With this wearable collection, the wearer gains the widest possible range of defence mechanisms to protect themselves against existing or future surveillance technologies in urban environments. The aim is to strengthen privacy in the long term with the help of our technology-driven fashion collection, whilst simultaneously establishing a new niche within the fashion sector. Through various technologies integrated into the clothing and intelligent design, biometric analysis systems and surveillance cameras with night-vision capabilities are countered, giving the wearer back control over their own privacy and the fundamental right to freedom in public spaces. The first prototypes have already been developed and successfully tested in practice.

Nicole Scheller (fashion designer) and Marcel Göbe (computer scientist) from URBANPRIVACY are questioning the function of clothing and what it should protect against. Particularly in a highly digitalised world, where we are constantly surrounded by information structures, it remains difficult to protect oneself from the analysis of one’s own personal data.

When it rains, a rain jacket protects us from the wet, or when it’s cold, gloves protect our hands. But if we find ourselves in the crosshairs of technology that tracks us, there are hardly any ways to avoid being recorded. Biometric data, such as our face, the way we move or speak, is particularly at risk. This is the kind of information that can uniquely identify us. New methods and the use of artificial intelligence to analyse biometric data also give rise to new potential for error. Alongside identity theft, mass screening and false positives, racist categorisation based on physical appearance is one of the systems’ greatest sources of error. This gave rise to the idea of creating fashion as a form of protective clothing for privacy and against the collection and analysis of our biometric data. A self-determined approach to privacy and identity not only promotes healthy personal development but also forms the basis for a democratic social system.

During the specified funding period, the focus will be on the technical development of the “URBANGHOST” LED coat and the black-and-white “FACEPTION” surface design. Building on the existing prototype, the aim is to improve not only the installation of the light elements and circuit tracks but, in particular, the switch mechanism of the LED coat. In collaboration with the Faculties of Media Informatics and Computer Science, under the leadership of Prof. Dr Andreas Both from HTWK Leipzig, third-semester and Master’s students will design prototype development software over the course of two semesters as part of the “Software Project” module. With the help of this prototype development software, various scenarios are to be tested in future, which will form the basis for the "FACEPTION" surface design of the collection.

Visit the project website