Wearable Technology

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. The "mega trend" stands to be worth up to $50 billion over the next three to five years, fuelled by the wellness and fitness sector and advances in battery and sensor technology.

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.

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