Dutch designer Jeffrey Heiligers’ latest clothing line — “Posture” — targets people who spend most of their time hunched over a computer. By preventing the wearer from slouching, the clothes help people improve their posture in the long run. The concept is simple — every time you slouch, the shirt will tighten uncomfortably around the back, forcing you to sit upright again!

“I engineered a tailor-made remedy that corrects poor posture, nowadays very common amongst the digital generation, not by constraining the muscles, but by training them,” Heiligers told Dezeen magazine. “Posture offers a solution integrated into the clothes you wear. By repositioning the seams in such a way that they start to feel uncomfortable when hunching, it stimulates you to sit up straight.”

Heiligers revealed that a physiotherapist was involved in the designing process. They began by identifying the various sitting and standing positions that cause neck, shoulder, and back pain. Heiligers then cut the fabric across the back, in order to make the clothes tighten slightly when the wearer slumps forward. The discomfort will remind the wearer to adjust their posture, and their muscles will eventually get trained to sit and stand the right way.

The Posture range includes cotton shirts, felted cardigans, and knitted wool jumpers that are all constructed differently from normal garments. Heiligers pointed out that the clothes are special because the more they are used, the less they are needed. He chose to use only a minimum palette of colors — white, grey, navy — because he wanted to create an everyday collection.

“I would like the fashion industry to be inspired by the blueprint I created and them to buy/adopt it to prevent upper back problems in the future,” Heiligers said.

荷兰设计师杰弗里·海里格斯最近推出的服装系列 —“姿势”— 针对那些整天在电脑前弯腰驼背的人。这种衬衫通过阻止人们驼背来帮助改善长期坐姿。它的原理很简单 — 每次你驼背的时候，衬衫背部就会很紧，让你很不舒服，不得不直起腰来。

“现在的数字一代，很多人都习惯弯腰驼背，我设计了一个量身定做的治疗方式，来纠正错误的坐姿，不是通过束缚肌肉，而是训练它们。”海里格斯告诉《设计》杂志，“姿势系列服装将解决驼背的办法融入到你的衣服中。通过重新定位衣服接缝，在你驼背的时候，这些衣服就会让你感到不适，刺激你端正坐姿。”

海里格斯透露，这款衬衣的设计过程有理疗师的参与。他们确定了造成颈，肩，背痛的站姿和坐姿。然后海里格斯把背部的衣料剪开重新缝接，穿衣服的人驼背时衬衫就会稍微收紧。背部的不适感会提醒人调整姿势，最后他们的肌肉会得到训练，矫正姿势。

姿势系列服装包括纯棉衬衫，毡制开衫和针织羊毛套衫，它们的结构和普通款不同。海里格斯指出，这些服装的特别之处在于，穿着次数越多，就越不需要穿。他只使用白，灰，深蓝等少数几种颜色，因为他想让该系列适合日常百搭。

海里格斯说，“我希望我设计的这些衣服能够给时装行业一些启示，未来更多地将这个设计用在时装中防止背部问题。”

    Words to Learn 相关词汇

   【弓背】gōngbèi hunch stand, sit, or walk in a bent posture

    【刺激】cìjī stimulate encourage