Garlic Heat: Where Agriculture Meets Fashion

Heat Hijacked

Imagine wearing a jacket that doesn't just keep you warm—it works with your body to capture, store, and redistribute your natural heat. This is the vision behind Heat Hijacked, a project by Peerasin Hutaphaet in collaboration with Rilya Krisnawati, that reimagines how our clothes can work with nature rather than against it.

At its heart, Heat Hijacked transforms something we usually throw away—garlic waste—into something remarkable. What makes garlic truly exceptional is its unique porous structure, which makes it nature's ideal phase change material. When integrated with paraffin, this combination absorbs or releases thermal energy during melting or solidifying at specific temperatures—much like how our bodies regulate heat. Experimental results demonstrate garlic's remarkable capabilities in waste heat recovery, heat repetition, and thermal storage.

Heat Hijacked draws profound inspiration from our biological systems. Just as our skin and bodies automatically regulate temperature, these garments work to capture excess heat produced during movement and metabolism—energy that would otherwise be lost to the environment—and store it for release when we're resting and need warmth most.

This philosophy of working with natural materials and processes aligns with our approach. Heat Hijacked demonstrates how overlooked natural resources can be transformed into innovative solutions when approached with creativity and respect for natural systems.

Why generate new heat when we already produce so much?

By exploring the secrets of our thermoregulation and adapting them to garments, they've created a system that works in harmony with human natural rhythms rather than against them. This mirrors our commitment to creating products that work with the body's natural processes rather than disrupting them.

Where Agriculture Meets Fashion

What makes this project groundbreaking is how it bridges two seemingly unrelated worlds. The same garlic compounds that make these garments retain heat also enrich soil with essential nutrients when returned to the earth, improve water retention in agricultural settings, and provide natural pest control through sulfur compounds, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.

By connecting food waste streams to both fashion innovation and agricultural needs, Heat Hijacked creates a circular system where nothing is truly wasted—everything is transformed and repurposed. This circular approach to design and production aligns perfectly with our waste-to-product philosophy, where our packaging is designed to biodegrade or be repurposed. 

Heat Hijacked invites us to reconsider our relationship with what we wear. These garments aren't passive layers we put on and take off—they're active thermal systems working in harmony with our bodies and the environment.

In a world facing climate challenges, this project demonstrates how biomaterials and thoughtful design can reduce our environmental footprint while meeting our needs for comfort and protection. 

Through Heat Hijacked, they’re not just creating warmer jackets; they’re cultivating a future where fashion, agriculture, and sustainability aren’t separate pursuits, but part of the same vital conversation about how we live on this planet—a conversation that we shape through our commitment to local, sustainable, and regenerative practices. 

Heat Hijacked is part of an industry partnership between MA Material Futures at Central Saint Martins and Canada Goose. The project was awarded in their competition, with IP rights now owned by Canada Goose.

References: Peerasin Hutaphaet