Worried About Drones? Try Wearing This Hoodie
What’s the Latest Development?
Next week, Brooklyn-based artist Adam Harvey is scheduled to unveil a line of fashion called Stealth Wear at a London studio. Working in collaboration with fashion designer Johanna Bloomfield, Harvey used materials designed to disguise and protect the wearer from thermal imaging, X-rays, and other technologies commonly used in surveillance. The garments include “an anti-drone hoodie and matching scarf…and a pocket protector that he says blocks cell phones from sending and receiving signals.” At the exhibit, each garment will be accompanied by information about the relevant technology and counter-technology behind its creation.
What’s the Big Idea?
The expected increase in domestic unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a tool for law enforcement is just one of the things motivating Harvey’s work. He turned away from photography, his original medium, as a response to a post-PATRIOT Act country in which cameras have become “enablers of surveillance societies.” Past projects include CV Dazzle, household makeup that provides “camouflage from [facial recognition software].” With his clothing line, he hopes to “explore the aesthetics of privacy and the potential for fashion to challenge authoritarian surveillance,” according to a press release.
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