Glammer Society

One company has turned witch-craft into a fashion trend. Simply holding an item in your hands can transform an ordinary black bag into an explosion of color. A shirt can magically turn into a different hues, depending on the environment’s pH levels. These innovations are brought to life by a material alchemist. 

This alchemist is named Lauren Bowker. She was initially studying textiles in Manchester, England, when she fell badly ill. After getting out of the hospital, she realized that she was done with catwalks. Bowker “wanted to create something with more meaning,” and that’s when she started studying chemistry. This led Bowker to use her knowledge of science and her sense of fashion to fuse the two worlds together. 

 Based in London, she founded the company The Unseen in 2015. The store launched as a limited-edition, luxury accessories collection in UK department store, Selfridges.

Selfridges buying director, Sebastian Manes, said, “We’re always looking for the most extraordinary brands and one-of-a-kind experiences for our stores and The Unseen vision and craftsmanship really captured our imagination. Their manipulation of materials and colors is fascinating… We are excited to collaborate with her this season and cannot wait to see our customers’ reaction to The Unseen.”

 Their motto “We change the way the world uses colour – Giving data a voice to improve lives” represents the idea of the company: to use human interface or the environment to change the color of different materials (ranging from candles to clothes to hair dye). 

At the same time, Lauren Bowker wants her company to advocate for critical issues such as global warming and pollution. 

These cotton-and-hemp T-shirts are dyed using red cabbage, a leafy green that is rich in a class of water-soluble pigments called anthocyanins. Anthocyanins respond to changes in pH by cycling through a spectrum of hues, ranging from red-pink to blue-green.

“Red cabbage juice contains anthocyanin and can be used as a pH indicator,” Bowker explained. “It’s red, pink, or magenta in acids, purple in neutral solutions, and ranges from blue to green to yellow in alkaline solutions.”

This calfskin backpack shows vivid flushes of color in response to air pressure as the atmosphere brushes across its surface. A vivid flush of colored markings appears when outside, returning to black when indoors. 

This Italian alligator-skin shoulder bag with environmentally responsive ink changes to reflect the different seasons. It turns green fading to red in the autumn, black in the winter, red in the spring, and blue in the summer.

Bowker states, “The basis of our technology lies within scientific compounds and material. We concept up scenarios that we want our surfaces to respond to and then code our chemicals to achieve it.” This seasonal shoulder bag, for instance, tracks UV light level, humidity, and heat.

This cuff bracelet has a wide strap bound with two Sam Brown fastenings around the wrist. When worn, the change in warmth released from your wrist reveals a transformation of color on each scale. 

This iPhone Case is available in luxury calfskin or alligator skin and is the perfect way to protect your phone in style. It transforms into vivid colors by touch. 

This over-the-shoulder, cashmere, calf-bound purse includes a removable strap. A lively mix of colors unique to each owner is activated by touch. Absent of touch, the bag reverts back to black. 

Have you ever wished you could change the color of your hair? This hair dye can help with that by adding heat. The FIRE hair dye concept is designed to change its pigment chemistry, adjusting its color when hit by hot or cold air. Lauren’s company premiered the dye during London Fashion Week.

Bowker notes one of her goals for the company, “We want the world to experience materials that are out of the ordinary, understanding that they are available now and not necessarily just sci-fi futuristic fashion predictions.”

For a live review on The Unseen hair dye, which changes color based on heat, check out this link from Insider Beauty: