Transgender men and non-binary people have a safer, more comfortable option for chest binding in the form of Breathe, a smart garment designed by Loughborough University student Miles Kilburn.
The student designer created Breathe as his final year project in Loughborough's Industrial Design and Technology course.
The product caters to people who practice chest binding, which involves flattening the breasts to give the appearance of a more masculine chest.

Unlike established methods of binding ? which vary from commercial binders to DIY bandages and tape ? Breathe can be easily loosened throughout the day, providing the wearer with moments of much-needed respite.
Kilburn points out that while chest binding is associated with improved mental health for its users, there can be bad physical side effects, including back and chest pain and rib fractures. Overbinding is also linked to rashes, shortness of breath and overheating.
And although wearers might want to take a break by loosening the binder, sometimes they lack the time and privacy to do so, especially if they're at work or school.

While consulting with trans student groups, Kilburn came up with a fix; he wove Breathe with a smart material whose nature changes at the push of a button.
The material is nitinol, an alloy of nickel and titanium. Threads of it run laterally across the binder, connecting to elastic in the garment's side panels.
When Breathe is in its regular state, this elastic pulls in all the excess materia...