Once again Google and Apple with the launch of Google Glass and Apple
iWatch are leaders in a new fast emerging trend
The craze however goes
way beyond this with Designers creating apparel, accessories
and fitness wear that can do everything from monitor your heart rate to charge
your smartphone.
Here's a look at some of the haute tech trends in fashion.
Charge It
Someday you may be able to
charge your smartphone with your clothes. Flexible solar panels have inspired
designers to come up with clothes and accessories that can power electronics.
Start-up Wearable Solar is using the
technology to make lightweight wired garments that enable the wearer to charge
a smartphone up to 50 percent if worn in the sun for a full hour.
And New York-based Voltaic Systems makes a collection of
bags that can charge a variety of devices.
Baubles
and Bangles
In the future, our own personal
air purifier may defend us from all that nasty air outside.
Worn on the wrist, the Hand
Tree design sucks up and filters polluted air, and recycles it back into the
atmosphere. It was created by Alexandr Kostin, a semifinalist in the Electrolux Design Lab Competition.
The purifier gas a refillable
carbon filter, a rechargeable battery and an organic light-emitting diode
screen.
Don't Just
Stand There
Some sharp people want to make
our clothing to, well, do more.
Amy Winters, the designer of
the Rainbow Winters clothing
line, makes garments that respond to their environment.
For example, the dress is made
with holographic leather and reacts to sound. As volume increases, it begins to
illuminate and make what Winters describes as "visual music." The
bathing suit reacts to light, with the center panel turning into purple dots in
the sun.
Trackable
Couture
Things can get lost pretty
easily in those massive walk-in closets.
In his fall 2013 collection,
fashion designer Asher Levine included tracking chips that let items be located
by the owner using a customized TrackR app.
Levine, who has created looks
for Lady GaGa and will.i.am., partnered with Bluetooth solutions company Phone
Halo on the chip.
Get Off
the Sidewalk!
City bike-sharing programs such
as New York's Citi Bike may be great, but the stations may be a bit hard to
find without a map.
Adafruit, a company that sells DIY
electronics and kits, has built a helmet to help make that process more efficient.
It has a built-in navigation system that uses lights that flash on the left or
right to let the rider know where to turn.
The interface is still a bit
complicated, though: The user has to manually enter the coordinates of a
destination, but it is still safer than trying to use a smartphone while
riding.
You
Lookin' at Me?
Using eye-tracking technology,
fashion designer Ying Gao has created
a set of dresses that move when someone is looking at them.
When the garment is gazed at
for a time, tiny motors move parts of it in patterns.
The dresses also glow. covered
in photo-luminescent thread or featuring glow-in-the-dark threads that make up
the base layer of fabric.
Sounds
That Carry
The merger of technology and
high-end accessory design is a definite trend.
Handbag designer Rebecca
Minkoff has made four clutches that encase speakers for Stellé Audio Couture.
A Sock
With a Message
The start-up Heapsylon has a smart sock, Sensoria,
that is paired with an anklet to automatically detect the type and level of
activity based on pressure signals coming from the foot of the wearer.
Sensors in the sock communicate
data to the anklet, which then can relay the information to the user via an
app.
For example, it can track a
runner's regular form and send an alert when he or she is making an injurious
movement.
Close to
the Heart
Even more intimate than smart
socks, intelligent sports bras can track users' performance.
This NuMetrix sports bar, made by
Textronics, has a small transmitter that snaps to the garment to tracks a
user's heart rate.
Light It
Up
Berlin-based label Moon Berlin, which makes
luxury clothing, focuses on using technology to enhance the look of its
designs.
Soft-circuit LEDs are
integrated into the garments, connected to an electrical circuit attached to
rubber-like materials that are integrated into fabrics.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100853138/page/1
