Billy Porter's high-tech hat

Billy Porter, star of Pose and internet sensation, stole the show at the last Grammy 2020 with a singular accessory combined with his suit Baja East personalized with crystal fringes. The accessory in question was the wide-brimmed hat with mechanical retraction fringes designed by Sarah Sokol. The hat and outfit were inspired by the fountain pen by Paul Poiret worn by La Casati, a high society woman and Italian collector of the early 1900s.

The hat integrated is a mechanism by Smooth Technology - a group of New York-based engineers and designers led by James DeVito, Dylan Fashbaugh and Dave Sheinkopf. This is not the first time that Smooth Technology has created an object-design for a celebrity: Janelle Monáe's Met Gala dress with blinking eyes, Lady Gaga's armor in her Enigma show in Las Vegas and Taylor Swift's led dress in his 1989 World Tour.

Smooth Technology has posted some images on Instagram that show how the circuit operated the motors: Porter's hat used a microcontroller similar to an Arduino. The custom card managed the motors and radio communication with a transmitter. The system can send data wirelessly while rejecting interference, essential when the system is integrated into a creation worn by someone like a singer who performs during a big concert.

In an interview on Theverge.com with the Smooth Technology studio, Dylan Fashbaugh (co-founder and chief engineer) explains how the project usually starts with an idea of ​​collaboration with designers and stylists to make theatrical performances and scenic designs possible. In the case of Billy Porter's hat, Sarah Sokol (accessory designer) contacted them to propose the addition of mechanical elements to Billy's hat to mechanically move the fringe.

"We have mechanical elements, aesthetic design decisions, wireless radio systems, software to make it work smoothly. Once we have assembled and connected all those parts together, the design is finished. And says it is part of why Billy's hat it was as successful as a meme. "Dylan says later explaining that Billy's hat has been remotely controlled to open and close with exact timing." With Porter's hat, we should just send one message to open and one to close. "On the future of technology in fashion he then adds" It will happen slowly. I mean, there is a lot of hope going on right now. Columbia has tried to put electric heaters in their jackets and boots. The limit of much technology at this moment is that you have to upload it and you have to connect it." The correlation between fashion and technology brands today is making great strides with smart shoe brands like Nike with the model HyperAdapt 1.0 with pressure sensors in the soles that detect when the foot is inside and trigger an algorithm that provides an automatic connection; Digitsole with interactive shoes allows you to provide personalized feedback to monitor health, fatigue, posture, steps, and calories and least but not last Xiaomi with shoes that detects speed, distance, calories, hours of sleep and weight.