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Published online 4 February 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news040202-7

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The physics of haute couture

Equations that predict how fabric will fold could be a boon for animators and clothes designers

A mathematical theory of drapery might help fashion designers get just the right ‘hang’ into their outfits.

Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and colleagues have come up with equations that predict the number and shape of folds in a draped sheet1.

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