LG’s new foldable, stretchable, twistable display to take on fashion industry

South Korean company LG has revealed a lineup of stretchable, wearable displays at the prestigious Seoul Fashion Week.

The panels can be freely stretched, folded, and twisted, as per LG Display – the company’s unit which deals with display technologies.

This new development at the Seoul Fashion Week comes after the event in 2022 when LG Display had unveiled the stretchable prototype display. The prototype could extend from 12 to 14 inches while maintaining the resolution of 100 ppi, at the level of a regular monitor, and a full color spectrum.

The stretchable displays presented at the fashion week were featured on the front of garments, sleeves, and clutch bags crafted by Korean designers Youn-Hee Park and Chung-Chung Lee.

The models demonstrated the concept on ramps during shows on September 5 and they will also be presented on the days ahead.

Stretchable, wearable displays by LG

The stretchable displays are a leap forward in the design process, and they can revolutionize industries such as fashion, wearable, and mobility. Further they can also usher in an era of devices that can be comfortably worn like clothes or stay attached to the body without much hassle.

The design initiative is part of a national project led by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy with the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology to test the commercial potential of Stretchable displays, which are not only thin and lightweight but can also adhere to irregular surfaces such as clothing and skin, according to a release by LG Display.

LG Display had been chosen as the organizer for the national project for developing stretchable display applications in 2020. The company had been conducting research and development in coalition with several educational institutes and industry players since then.

With the stretchable displays now a reality, the company is planning to further enhance their capabilities before concluding the project this year.

Unique properties and future use

The stretchable displays allow designs and colors to shift from one moment to the next and their ability to be freely stretched, folded, and twisted gives them an added edge.

This means they can be used to design next-gen mobiles, or large screens which can function without much hassle of breakdown . It can also completely change the way the fashion industry functions.

We have been able to design future fashion concepts with new materials that have never existed before,” said Park, the head of GREEDILOUS.  Stretchable displays will bring a new paradigm to the fashion world.”

Lee, the head of LIE, added, “Stretchable displays will have a great impact on the fashion industry by enabling the implementation of designs that previously could only be imagined.”

“By successfully completing the Stretchable display national project, we will raise Korea’s display technology competitiveness to the next level and continue to develop products that provide differentiated customer value,” said Soo-young Yoon, CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display.

It should be kept in mind that while LG Display has emerged as a frontrunner in developing stretchable displays, Apple too has reportedly been trying to make one of them for its devices.

Earlier this year, Apple had filed a patent hinting at the new technology. If realized, this could lead to screens that seamlessly wrap around surfaces while retaining the visual brilliance of OLED displays.