It is a start up made in Puglia that already has a trip aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon under its belt. We are talking about Rea Space, an Italian company specialized in the designing, researching and developing of wearable devices and protection instruments for human beings into space. But what fashion has to do with it?
by Domenico Casoria
In Martina Franca, during the second edition of Are-ApulianRunwayExperience – event that took place from 9 to 13 November, that has the aim of connecting handcrafting and fashion made in Puglia – were presented by Rea Space the EMSi suits. Awarded with the Compasso d’oro 2024, they walked down a real runway, strengthening the connection between fashion and space. But the company is already working on new projects and on the complete development of a suit for the next Moon Landing. We have discussed it with Ilario Lagravinese, co-founder and CMO of the company. “EMSi has been created for medium and long-term missions. It consists in an intravehicular suit to be used, for this reason, inside a specific vehicle”.
The EMSi suit
Already aboard CrewDragon, EMSi was invented for a specific purpose: in order to counteract the loss of mass muscle and bone tissue that occur in weightlessness.
“It was designed for medium and long-term missions – underlined Lagravinese -. It is equipped with a threefold system. A specific high-tech and cutting edge compression fabric (antibacterial and capable of contrasting the cosmic rays). This characteristic is necessary in order to facilitate the right distribution of the body fluids -. Then, there are sensors, that detect the movement of the astronaut, that work in harmony with a series of electrodes located on the postural muscles of the body”. A complex and articulated project that even considers design.
In space with style
“The first prototypes were blue, but the suits later turned into black because of our decision to add graphene”, claims Lagravinese. In terms of materials, as you can imagine, most of the details are top secret. “The chosen materials sometimes never even exist. So, we take advantage of materials patented by us, with the collaboration of the company that deals with fabrics”. We were talking about style. For Rea Space, it is a matter of balance with functionality. “We are surely strictly linked to a product that needs to be comfortable, functional and practical, but it is just as important to propose a beautiful product, underlining the value of the made in Puglia. On the suit, besides the logo of Rea Space, stands out the logo of the Italian Space Agency, which plays a big role in the mission, together with the Italian Air Force.
How it was born
The company brings together different expertises. “We are four associates, each with different skills – as stated by Lagravinese -. But, the project comes from Flavio Augusto Gentile, CEO and inventor, who was involved in the design and manufacture of competitive swimming suits. During the pandemic period, Flavio came across a documentary that explained the difficult consequences experienced by astronauts due to weightlessness. So, he decided to shift his knowledge and expertise from the swimming suits to space suits”, taking advantage of them for the new project of completing the suit needed for the next Moon Landing. But that’s not the only news.
Future projects
“During the last few years, we noticed this fascination for space by fashion, even after the collaborations launched by Prada – concludes Lagravinese -, that doesn’t exclude the expansion of Rea Space towards new sectors. We have been reached by various gaming companies which declared themselves interested in our project, but also by fashion maison. We are even working on a land product which has the aim of preventing sport injuries. By being able to monitor all the phases of biomechanical activities, we will also be able to comprehend if the movement of the athlete is incorrect, with the aim of avoiding possible injuries”. Rea Space brings together technology and style. A perfect union.
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