Sound-Emitting Cloth Transformed into Next-Generation Products Through Student Ideas: HYSTERIC GLAMOUR's Nobuhiko Kitamura Takes the Stage to Discuss AIST-Developed 'Fabric Speaker'
The Professional Institute of International Fashion held a presentation showcasing student products utilizing AIST's 'Fabric Speaker'. Prototypes created through industry-academia collaboration with Sangetsu and HYSTERIC GLAMOUR were unveiled.
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- 📰 Published: April 11, 2026 at 03:00
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The Professional Institute of International Fashion, which develops global talent to lead the future of the fashion business, held a presentation of fashion-related products incorporating the 'Fabric Speaker' (sound-emitting cloth) developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (hereinafter AIST) on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, at the comprehensive school building Cocoon Tower in Shinjuku.
This project started in April 2025 through joint research with AIST and industry-academia collaboration with sponsoring companies. Utilizing AIST's patented 'Fabric Speaker' technology, which is thin, soft, and has the same texture as fabric, students conceived prototypes of fashion and interior goods based on post-design thinking PBL [1] (Project-Based Learning) with free-flowing ideas.
On the day of the event, a total of three representative projects presenting next-generation possibilities were unveiled in a fashion show and presentation format. These included headwear and bags in collaboration with Japan's leading street fashion brand 'HYSTERIC GLAMOUR,' as well as prototypes created in cooperation with comprehensive interior company Sangetsu Corporation, traditional crafts Yonezawa-ori (nitorito), and Yonezawa Dantsu (Takizawa Kobo).
[1] An innovation creation skill of Will-thinking (making people happy, expanding possibilities, and preserving ecosystems) customized for PIIF through AIST's technical consulting based on design thinking.
■ Sound-emitting curtain 'SONALIA'
The first is the sound-emitting curtain 'SONALIA'. It was born with the cooperation of Sangetsu, Tsuchiya, Tsuchiya Tisco, and the affiliated school Tokyo Mode Gakuen's Interior Design Department. Its greatest feature is the ability to produce sound effects without compromising the worldview, eliminating the need for traditional large speakers and audio equipment. In this exhibition, under the theme of 'Bamboo Grove', a design featuring shades of bamboo graphics was proposed. Speakers are built into the back of the dark-colored bamboo. The music exuding Japanese emotion and the cool visual effects seem perfectly suited for spaces like traditional inns.
■ 'Mat for Listening to the Stars'
This project started in April 2025 through joint research with AIST and industry-academia collaboration with sponsoring companies. Utilizing AIST's patented 'Fabric Speaker' technology, which is thin, soft, and has the same texture as fabric, students conceived prototypes of fashion and interior goods based on post-design thinking PBL [1] (Project-Based Learning) with free-flowing ideas.
On the day of the event, a total of three representative projects presenting next-generation possibilities were unveiled in a fashion show and presentation format. These included headwear and bags in collaboration with Japan's leading street fashion brand 'HYSTERIC GLAMOUR,' as well as prototypes created in cooperation with comprehensive interior company Sangetsu Corporation, traditional crafts Yonezawa-ori (nitorito), and Yonezawa Dantsu (Takizawa Kobo).
[1] An innovation creation skill of Will-thinking (making people happy, expanding possibilities, and preserving ecosystems) customized for PIIF through AIST's technical consulting based on design thinking.
■ Sound-emitting curtain 'SONALIA'
The first is the sound-emitting curtain 'SONALIA'. It was born with the cooperation of Sangetsu, Tsuchiya, Tsuchiya Tisco, and the affiliated school Tokyo Mode Gakuen's Interior Design Department. Its greatest feature is the ability to produce sound effects without compromising the worldview, eliminating the need for traditional large speakers and audio equipment. In this exhibition, under the theme of 'Bamboo Grove', a design featuring shades of bamboo graphics was proposed. Speakers are built into the back of the dark-colored bamboo. The music exuding Japanese emotion and the cool visual effects seem perfectly suited for spaces like traditional inns.
■ 'Mat for Listening to the Stars'