I remember the days when buying clothes came with a fairly simple objective. You wanted a garment  that would shield you from the elements, or perhaps a little something special to increase your overall appeal on your next date. Well, if the recent Siggraph 2007 exhibition in San Diego is anything to go by, those days will soon be over.

Welcome to the 21st century: Where our clothes can complete tasks, pleasure loved ones, and do everything but feed and bath us.... hold that thought...   

Here are a few of the latest wares on offer at Siggraph:

SOLAR BIKINI
There’s nothing more annoying than heading down to the beach to catch a few rays and listen to a some tunes on your mp3 player only to arrive at the power point free shoreline and find that your battery is on the brink. Well Andrew Schneider has come up with a handy little power booster.

The Solar Bikini overlays the basic swimsuit with narrow strips of photovoltaic film sewn on with conductive thread. The suit produces a five volt output, that, via the attached USB connector can recharge gadgets like the ipod.

There’s just one problem. If you decide to venture out for a cool dip in the ocean you’ll end up frying yourself. Hey, at least you’ll go down listening to your favourite playlist.

INTIMATE CONTROLLERS
Looking for a way to sauce up your love life without having to give up quality gaming time?

Jenny Chondury’s “his & her” bra and boxes set, designed as a “collaborative videogame platform,” might just be the ticket.

Intended for couples, or close friends who want to take their relationship to the next level, the garments have six controller spots located in different areas. Couples play an associated video game by touching controller panels on each others garments. The controller panels, or touch pads, are hidden in intimate places that the couple need to press in the correct order while being prompted by a set of symbols on the computer screen. As players get better the software encourages them to go for the more intimate pads.

That’s a game worth practicing.

KAMERAFLAGE
Want to send a hidden up-yours to the world? Now’s your chance to have a self portrait of yourself sticking it to the peeps on the street plastered to your t-shirt without getting sideswiped in the process.

Created by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab student, Connor Dickie, Kameraflage exploits the CCD and CMOS sensors in digital cameras to add a hidden layer of meaning to clothing.

Designs that are invisible to the naked eye are sewn onto garments. These are then picked up by digital camera sensors when the clothing is photographed.

Genius.

FLASH DANCE
To all the performers out there! Gone are the days of relying on the bored sound engineer at the back of an auditorium to cue up your music or hit the lasers at that crucial, all-defining point in your routine… now your costume can push all the buttons for you.

Leah Buckley's creation is studded with a variety of motion sensors that feed information, via built-in Bluetooth, about how the wearer is moving to a computer that interprets the sensor data. This can be used to create music or cue up video, audio or light displays to enhance performances.