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Abstract Due to fiber swelling, textile fabrics containing hygroscopic fibers tend to decrease pore size under wet or increasing humidity and moisture conditions, the reverse being true. Nevertheless, for personal thermal regulation and comfort, the opposite is desirable, namely, increasing the fabric pore size under increasing humid and sweating conditions for enhanced ventilation and cooling, and a decreased pore size under cold and dry conditions for heat retention. This paper describes a novel approach to create such an unconventional fabric by emulating the structure of the plant leaf stomata by designing a water responsive polymer system in which the fabric pores increase in size when wet and decrease in size when dry. The new fabric increases its moisture permeability over 50% under wet conditions. Such a water responsive fabric can find various applications including smart functional clothing and sportswear. Graphical Abstract