Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2013. It is a 2013 snapshot: “iWatch” was the rumored name of Apple’s smartwatch, which launched as Apple Watch in 2015, and Google Glass was later discontinued as a consumer product. The companies and projects described may no longer exist.
Wearable technology is in fashion, although fashion has already gone beyond Google Glass or Apple’s iWatch. In the clothing business, many designers and entrepreneurs are already shaping a whole range of ideas, creating all kinds of clothes and accessories that can do everything from monitoring your heart rate to charging your mobile phone.
When fashion and technology come together, these six ideas are the result.
1. Clothes that charge your devices
Wearable Solar is working on a type of clothing that can charge your mobile phone, thanks to flexible solar panels built into the garment. Meanwhile, New York company Voltaic Systems has a collection of bags that can charge a wide variety of devices.
2. Clothes that change with their surroundings
Amy Winters is a designer working on the Rainbow Winters line, making garments that respond to their environment. One of her dresses responds to sound by changing shape and filling with color. Her clothes are made with holographic leather, and for her the future of clothing will be garments that change color depending on whether it’s day or night, or a bikini that changes color when you get in the water. All of it is possible.
3. Clothes with a tracking chip
Asher Levine was the first designer to come up with the idea of making clothes and accessories with tracking chips. Bear in mind that coats or bags from certain brands cost a lot of money, so the idea has caught on with other designers. To make it work, Levine teamed up with a company specializing in this kind of device, so that any user can quickly and easily locate a garment they’ve lost.
4. Clothes that change when someone looks at them
Thanks to eye-tracking technology, designer Ying Gao has created a series of dresses that move when someone stares at them. Her clothes also glow in the dark, as they’re covered in photoluminescent thread.
5. Hybrid accessories
Rebecca Minkoff is convinced that the fusion of technology and high-end accessory design will be a clear trend. Handbags and wallets with built-in radio and MP3 players have already been made. According to Rebecca, any entrepreneur who comes up with great ideas around this fusion will have one of the most profitable businesses in the fashion of the future.
6. Smart bras
Textronics has created the first smart sports bras, which can track the wearer’s performance. They have a small transmitter that measures the person’s heart rate and can tighten the garment or loosen it depending on the number of beats.
Featured image: jeanbaptisteparis, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
