Released on Sept 13th 1963 by Phillips, the Compact Cassette also known as the Audio Cassette Tape recently turned 50.
With sales of over 2 Billion units in 1996 alone, who knows how many were made during the 30 years before Compact Disc. And how many billions of kilometers of polyester tape were thrown away?
Image via I, DOWNLOADER
Once superseded by the CD, besides the old retro graphic design revival, the once iconic, but now useless Compact Cassette disappeared and became forgotten.
Then, about 10 years ago Sonic Fabric was invented by Alyce Santoro and a weaver friend.
Made from 50% recycled cassette tape and 50% polyester thread, Sonic Fabric ingeniously upcycles the old polyester tape from Compact Cassettes into a new material with a unique finish and audio properties.
What’s more recycling the audio tape creates a unique and exciting multidimensional fabric.
Because not only does it contain the Compact Cassette DNA and it’s iconic cultural symbolism, but it also retains some of the audio properties of the original recordings.
This unique interwoven magnetic tape fabric represents a rich music tradition and also contains some of it’s sound/information!
Via Sonic Fabric
What if a textile technology existed that could contain digital information! Like a wearable circuit board.
For more on the subject of digital technology design convergence check out a previous post titled “Intelligent Design – Staying Culturally Relevant in the Digital Age” HERE
74 FOOTWEAR DESIGN CONSULTING 