Smart clothing: a new life

After technical textiles and functional textiles, smart textiles came into force a few years back. The term “smart textiles” covers a broad range. The application possibilities are only limited by our imagination and creativity. Hence it is not simple for the readers of the many articles that have been published to distinguish where reality ends and where fiction begins. In this paper, it is further explored what smart textiles precisely mean. In a second part, an analysis is made of the possibilities, the state of affairs and the need for further research, including research in the Department of Textiles at the Ghent University (Belgium).