Gimme Shelter

I have posted about the Ecouterre website a few times – generally when something on their eco fashion / sustainability site catches my eye as being at the extreme end of the wacky scale. So when their recent e-newsletter featured a post called 10 Wearable Habitats to Shelter You From the Apocalypse, I thought it was worth checking out. Not always practical or attractive, but I guess that’s not at the top of your priority list when you’re seeking shelter from the apocalypse, right?

Apparently, this jacket / sleeping bag combo is the result of a collaboration between London designer Tom Dixon and Adidas, in an attempt to create a “complete wardrobe for every possible occasion”. I presume that this piece is only part of the wardrobe collection, as I do not believe that it caters for every possible occasion. A black tie function, for example. Or, you know, working in a normal office. Or really, any place that requires your legs to be covered in something other than your bedding. It is a good idea if you’re looking for a jacket you can sleep in, though.

Then there is this ‘Portable Home’ that was designed by three students from Middlesex University in the UK. It’s a peculiar looking white frock that turns into a tent. And you get to wear a cool pointy hat too. Not sure how comfortable your dress would be with all those tent poles hanging around, but it’d be very handy in case you needed a tent on the run.

And from another British designer, Lucy Orta, comes ‘Refuge Wear’. It’s a great concept and apparently one of Lucy’s designs enabled four people to join their silver jackets together to become a multi-person tent. Pretty amazing stuff, but I really like it because it looks like the tent may well be alive. If I was the boss, I would add some arms, just for the effect.

And now to my favourite. Veasyble. From what I can gather (their website is in Italian), it is like a paper accordion style thing. That you can carry around and then PUT OVER YOUR FACE. The website is full of bizarro images – a lady on the train, with a small paper accordion covering her eyes; a lady on the steps in a busy city, with a paper mask covering her whole face. But I like the one in the image below as I can imagine how good it would be to use in the real world. Forget ‘talk to the hand’ or the old fashioned ‘I am not listening to you – la, la, la, la’. With this, I can show you that I’ve had enough by silently expanding my paper accordion and disappearing into my own cocoon. I don’t think it’s sound-proofed, but someone would have to be very persistent to keep talking once you were in here.

But I couldn’t leave out the Sleep Suit. American Forrest Jessee (yes, really) has designed this suit and according to his website, there appears to be a great deal of science behind the textile used and the design of the suit. So I do feel a bit guilty for liking it because it looks funny. I couldn’t find my favourite image of the suit to use here – it was a lady dressed in the suit, slumped over her computer keyboard, resting peacefully in an otherwise bustling office. And let’s face it, who wouldn’t want a suit that could make that happen?

You can check out all of the wearable habitats from the Ecouterre website here. If only I could have ordered a sleep suit in time for the Camino – now THAT would impress the other pilgrims in the hostel!