Sensewear: Calming Clothing

Sensewear, the winner of the Lexus Design Award 2015, is a clothing range designed to improve the lives of people with autism by engaging with them on a sensory level.

The designs help autistic people deal with activities they find challenging, such as getting dressed, wearing certain materials, playing and stimulating their senses. Reversible garments eliminate the problem of wearing clothing inside out. The fabrics are smooth and free from buttons, zippers and tags, as autism-related sensory issues mean certain materials are difficult to touch.

Bite Me, a necklace with a soft rubber attachment, helps the wearer express emotions and let others know something is wrong by biting. Pump Me, a suit that tightens itself around the wearer, provides a hugging sensation, proven to relieve autistic people of anxiety.

"We see that such clothes could be useful for lots of people. In our daily life, we are sometimes confronted with stressful situations in which we would like to build some kind of shelter around us," Emanuela Corti and Ivan Parati, the designers behind Sensewear, told website Designboom.

For more on how brands are stimulating consumers' senses to boost their wellbeing, see Compressed Calm, Wired Health 2015 and our new Contour S/S 17 Design Direction.