A group of students from London's Royal College of Art have designed a prototype coat for refugees that transforms into a tent or a sleeping bag (+ movie).

Made from paper-like synthetic material Tyvek, the Wearable Habitation coat is insulated with Mylar ? a polyester material commonly used by marathon runners to keep warm.
When worn as a coat, the design resembles a baggy parka with a large hood. Pockets on the inside can be used to store passports and personal documents.

Black zips allow the coat to be completely opened out and transformed into a sleeping bag. Lightweight kite-rods can then be fed through specific seams to form a tent. Visual assembly instructions will be printed onto each garment.

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"We spoke with Médecins Sans Frontières to get an idea of what a refugee's journey truly was," said Harriet Harris, one of the project leaders. "Our garment has three stages of use: one as a piece of clothing, one as a sleeping bag and one as a tent."

"These three aspects adapt to the conditions a refugee would experience through their two- to five-week journey," she told Dezeen.
The coat was developed by mixed teams of students from the RCA's interior design and textile courses, who were asked to develop wearable shelters for those displaced by conflict in their home countries.

The brief for the Wearable Habitation project ? set by professors ...