Permanent Press - Corpo Nove designs a "smart shirt" - Company Business and Marketing - Brief Article

Industry Standard, The, August 20, 2001 by Katie Motta

If the Jetsons were any indication, by the 21st century we were supposed to, have robotic maids doing our laundry. Italian Fashion house Corpo Nove has a different idea: smarter clothes.

In June, the company unveiled Oricalco, a prototype of a shirt that irons itself. The garment's fabric is a mixture of nylon and a "thermal shape memory" alloy that returns to its original shape when heated with a hair dryer.

Now Corpo Nove is designing a shirt out of similar material that will automatically shorten as the temperature rises, in effect rolling up its own sleeves.

You won't be able to buy an Oricalco anytime soon without losing your shirt. The prototype cost the company about $3,500 to make. Now, about those flying cars.