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Padded jackets are all the rage this winter, but now jackets are made from real duvets.
As the nation struggles to stay warm, a bedding company has designed an unusual inner jacket, made from the same material as the duvets, that stretches from shoulder to ankle.
The design, which goes on sale from next month and comes with a starting price of £450, is part of a free exhibition at the Design Museum in London’s Kensington starting next month.
The Designing for our Future Selves exhibition, featuring products for the elderly, also includes a designer walker modeled after a stylish scooter, a chair that helps people get up and smart insoles that can warn people when they are about to fall.
Joan Johnston, co-inventor of the duvet cover, Coaroon, which takes its name from the Scottish word ‘coorie’, meaning to cuddle, said: ‘A lot of people enjoy a duvet day, cuddling on the couch, but they get cold again when she has to get up to go to the bathroom or kitchen.
As the nation struggles to stay warm, a bedding company has designed an unusual inner jacket, made from the same material as the duvets, that stretches from shoulder to ankle
“So we wanted people to be able to keep warm as if they were still wearing the duvet, even though this is a carefully designed piece of clothing with style in mind.”
The coat, made by the Ava Innes firm and also using wool from sheep in the Scottish Borders, has pre-orders from customers up to the age of 80.
The company’s duvets are claimed to ease night sweats in menopausal women, so the jacket may also be helpful for hot flashes.
It keeps people cool and also retains heat when needed, the company said, due to its cashmere interior.
This cashmere comes from the hair of goats which is straight and cannot be spun into wool, so it is usually discarded, making the coat more durable (SUBS – pls keep).
Ms Johnston said: ‘People are insecure at first, but once they try them on they feel wonderfully warm and cosy. ‘Sustainably made in the UK using natural materials, they are a great alternative to mass-produced rompers.’
The free exhibition, curated in collaboration with the Design Age Institute at the Royal College of Art and running from February 24 to March 26, also outlines a stylish redesign of a wheeled walker.
Lady Helen Hamlyn, a patron of the Royal College of Art, whose Design Age Institute was commissioned to find modern walker designs, described the walker or “rollator” as “the most degrading object we can give to anyone.”
Many people who would benefit most are abandoning, avoiding or delaying buying one, compromising their mobility.
Michael Strantz, the product designer who came up with new versions of the walker, said: ‘The prototype walker was made to look more active, with wheels and a light on the front like a bicycle, and a shape more like a scooter. seems.
“We are now working on versions that can connect to a phone so that a sensor in the handle can monitor the user’s heart rate, and they may be able to plan a walker-friendly route using GPS and see how many miles they have covered on average. week.’
The coat, made by the Ava Innes firm and also using wool from sheep in the Scottish Borders, has pre-orders from customers up to the age of 80
The Riser chair, which helps one move from a sitting to a standing position by gently tilting it forward, was designed by Ali Jafari, an architect and nurse, who was inspired by working with the elderly in nursing homes
The Riser chair, which helps a person move from a sitting to a standing position by gently tilting it forward, was designed by Ali Jafari, an architect and nurse, who was inspired by working with the elderly in nursing homes.
Mr Jafari, whose ergonomic chair has a locking mechanism but rocks forward when someone needs to get up, said: ‘Getting up from a chair seems so easy when you’re young and healthy, and it’s completely natural.
“We wanted to come up with an elegant design to help people who find it a bit more difficult to get up from a chair safely and to make sure they can do so with ease and dignity.”
Mr. Jafari is also working on a smart toilet that can help people get up easily, similar to the design created in the popular sitcom Grace and Frankie by the elderly entrepreneurs played by Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
The smart shoe insole was designed by Lise Pape, whose father had Parkinson’s disease and often fell before his death in 2021.
The insole can predict people’s risk of falling, based on factors such as how long their feet stay on the ground while walking, and vibrates against people to indicate when they are at risk of tripping.
Miss Pape, who has had interest from geriatricians and hopes to deliver the design to the NHS, said: ‘My mum recently fell and broke her arm – this happens all the time but we focus too much on treating people after they prevent a fall, rather than fall.
‘If we can tell people what their fall risk is, they have the knowledge to do exercises to improve their stability.
“And real-time feedback from their shoes can make them safer.”
The exhibition also includes designs for a home office for the elderly, a light installation and a portable incontinence aid.