Dutch designer Jeffrey Heiligers’ latest clothing line – ‘Posture’ – targets people who spend most of their time hunched over a computer. By preventing the wearer from slouching, the clothes help people improve their posture in the long run. The concept is simple – every time you slouch, the shirt will tighten uncomfortably around the back, forcing you to sit upright again!

“I engineered a tailor-made remedy that corrects poor posture, nowadays very common amongst the digital generation, not by constraining the muscles, but by training them,” Heiligers told Dezeen magazine. “Posture offers a solution integrated in the clothes you wear. By repositioning the seams in such a way that they start to feel uncomfortable when hunching, it stimulates you to sit up straight.”

Heiligers revealed that a physiotherapist was involved in the designing process. They began by identifying the various sitting and standing positions that cause neck, shoulder, and back pain. Heiligers then cut the fabric across the back, in order to make the clothes tighten slightly when the wearer slumps forward. The discomfort will remind the wearer to adjust their posture, and their muscles will eventually get trained to sit and stand the right way.

The Posture range includes cotton shirts, felted cardigans, and knitted wool jumpers that are all constructed differently to normal garments. Heiligers pointed out that the clothes are special because the more they are used, the less they are needed. He chose to use only a minimum palette of colors – white, grey, navy – because he wanted to create an everyday collection.

“I would like the fashion industry to be inspired by the blueprint I created and them to buy/adopt it to prevent upper back problems in the future,” Heiligers said.

via Dezeen