ROME, Jan 19 — An Italian start-up is exploiting a flaw in the system by selling a whole range of clothes capable of foiling facial recognition systems. To go incognito, what could be better than knitwear with a cleverly crafted design?

Cap_able is proposing a clothing collection called Manifesto, capable of deceiving object and face detection systems in real time. These are unique knitted garments that combine design and technology. They have been designed in part with algorithms, serving to confuse facial recognition systems.

Through this first collection, Cap_able wants to raise awareness about the importance of privacy and the need to protect your identity in public spaces. The start-up fears that such biometric data could be stored and then combined with personal data to establish a profile of each citizen.

The start-up therefore decided to go about shielding people from facial recognition technology. Indeed, people who wear these clothes are not recognized as such. Instead of recognizing faces, the system recognizes, depending on the models, dogs, zebras, giraffes or small characters all knitted into the fabric, all designed with the help of algorithms.

The Manifesto collection currently comprises sweaters, hoodies, skirts and pants. It is made entirely in Italy and this has a price: count €277.50 (RM1,292) for long pants, €420 for a hoodie or €480 for a dress. — ETX Studio