The news that morbilli might be spreading through San Francisco ’s BART connection not only triggered awarning from the transit authority itself , it is also a peculiarly alarming reminder that public transportation can be , well , disgusting . wintertime ’s runny noses , summer ’s sweat , springtime ’s sneezing allergies — it does n’t really matter the season . When you ride the bus or subway , often the last affair you desire to do is touch the strap or fall on . Could a newfangled stemma of clothing assistance protect you from the germs ?
That ’s the premise of the Straphanger jacket from intent consultancy firmgravitytank , part of their “ Transfer ” task studying the health effects of public transportation .
The jacket come with a sneezing patch in the cubital joint — don’t worry , it can be detach and you’re able to wash it — and even palm - protecting “ fold out baseball glove ” that slide down from inside the coat sleeves to offer some distance between you and the germ - covered pole that keeps you from fall ( these , too , can be detached and laundered ) .
There ’s an inner collar , scarf , and brass mask with an “ antimicrobic lining [ that ] acts as a filter for time you have to sneeze in crowds”—etc . etc .
There ’s a backpack with a flippable extinct liner , and so on .
What ’s interesting are not the actual design particular of the project — which is entirely speculative at this dot , dependent to change , and explicitly base on pre - existent products from other companies , such as Incase and The Mission Workshop . Rather , it ’s the very idea — both weirdly obsessive and altogether practical — that our wear should be adapt to act as well - ventilate medical carapace between us and the commuting humans , complete with antimicrobial protective flaps , sneeze - filters , and tiny outer pockets for holding our commutation carte .
Further , it ’s deserving noting the couturier ’ overall notion that transit itself — the experience of the public commute using shared method of transport — is such a omnipresent and permanent cultural experience that it warrant its own form of clothing . This is what gravitytank calls “ passage gear ” : “ Straphangeris the first of its kind , ” they pen . “ It builds on current momentum around lifestyle brands and increase public transit ridership to introduce an entirely new product category to the market : transit gear . ”
So is this just a cagey way to convince people that they want more than just shoes and a jacket crown to navigate the subway — that they demand specially priced “ transit gear ” so as to get to form in one small-arm ? Well , of course ; that ’s exactly what it is . It ’s capitalism at study , looking for fresh markets and , more significantly , new customer who are willing to consider they need the goods ( and are uncoerced to pay a not inconsiderable amount for them ) .
But it ’s also kind of awesome , to be honest , in a thrillingly dystopian , jarringly sci - fi fashion , promising a come era in which we ’ll see the accomplished medicalization of our outerwear , a future world in which we will no longer really come into contact with one another on the buses and subways , living alternatively in a nation of garment - enforced quarantine , passing through the same public without our microbes ever connecting . [ Atlantic Cities ]
CitiesFashionHealthMedicinetransportation
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , skill , and culture news in your inbox daily .
newsworthiness from the future , surrender to your present .
You May Also Like
