Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Anna-Sophie Dienemann has developed a line of accessories to encourage social distancing that can be unleashed by the wearer when others come too close.
Named the Bounding Spaces collection, Dienemann's design is one of more than 500 projects that were submitted in response to an open-call from the London Design Biennale and international policy think tank Chatham House.
Under the theme Design in An Age of Crisis, it invited proposals from all over the world on how we can tackle some of the most pressing issues facing humanity today.
The distance keepers can be unfurled by opening a belt
Dienemann's contribution focuses on the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and is comprised of seven "distance keepers". These are designed to be strapped to the body much like a holster and can be unfurled like a pop-up tent with one simple movement to create a barrier around the wearer. Made of lightweight, water-resistant fabrics, the accessories are reinforced with the same spring steel wire that helps the tents to keep their form.
The accessory is designed to be worn on the body like a harness
"Through adding piping to the fabric's outline and leading spring steel through it, the distance keeper naturally gets pulled into its shape," Dienemann told Dezeen.
"The much bigger challenge was to achieve a compressed version that acts as a beautiful accessory and transforms right on the body into its distance creating shape."
It was de...