By Alix Pressley Director of Strategic Content

We take a look at this month ’ s biggest talking point for data centre leaders .

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I was recently scrolling LinkedIn when a woman standing inside a data centre wearing a yellow dress caught my eye . The garment was made entirely from data centre materials , designed to ‘ bring the internet to life ’. Genius , in my opinion .

UK fashion designer , Maximilian Raynor – in partnership with Equinix – was behind this unique creation , made solely of

materials sourced from one of Equinix ’ s London data centres . The design exudes brilliance in its bid to position data centres and their digital infrastructure in front of the everyday consumer .

‘ The personification of the Internet herself ’ is an example of how the Internet is not just a behind-the-scenes virtual concept , but physical infrastructure we rely on . This image brings data centres to life and forces people to understand how these materials are responsible for making digital connections possible . Intertwining the virtual and the reality adds a new dimension to how we view data centres and their capabilities , whilst highlighting them as the backbone of modern infrastructure .

Raynor explained his thinking behind his creation : “ The garment tells two stories . The first is the immediate character which is the personification of the Internet and the second is one of repurposing and how we can all think about unconventional materials . The narrative of craft and making and the slower approach to design runs through the project as a whole . The dress is made of a mixture of Cat 5 and fibre optic cables as well as metal washers and bolts that are used at an Equinix data centre . It creates an interesting contrast of the Internet

and data which we perceive as so futuristic and then these almost historical techniques such as basket weaving and crochet that feel from a different time . The project spans history in that sense as something both historic and futuristic .”

Bruce Owen , President EMEA , Equinix , commented : “ By bridging the gap between physical and virtual , we wanted to create something tangible that works as a unique talking point to highlight the many thousands of connections that are created to support economies and societies every day . The design pays homage to the physicality of the vital infrastructure that makes up the Internet . Rather than some sort of weird magic or unexplainable force that just happens to work , it ’ s a physical , intricate network of cables , traversing land and sea and creating physical connections housed in data centres worldwide .”

Owen puts it perfectly when he describes the infrastructure spanning land and sea , depicting the journey of the data and creating a visual image people can relate to , reflected in the design . He emphasises the inner workings of the technology and the lengths it goes to for its consumers – emphasising data centres as essential to the modern age . �

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