Fashion in the Future… Will I want to wear that?

In the 21st century, technology is every where. The past 3~5 years are the peak of growth in our technology. Our phones went from Motorola Razor as the coolest thing, to multiple smart phones (iPhones or Androids). Our computers and laptops got progressively smaller and lighter and easier to move around with. The future is ahead of us and we can see the great influence of technology in our social life.

But the improvements of technology doesn’t stop there! Our fashion industry also integrated technology into their designs in the most creative, innovative, and ridiculous way possible!

They are called “wearable technology”, and they are not just futuristic designs with shiny fabrics and lady gaga like silhouette (AKA Smart Clothing), but they actually including bluetooth, electricity, chemicals, and biology. Many designers collaborated with technological companies such as Sony or DuPont. The designs are so outrages that I’m sure you will have a good laugh.

The trend of the fashion industry suggested that the common brands such as Nike, Adidas, Timberland, Columbia will start adopting the technique of “wearable technology” and essentially lead the break through of wearable technology. Adidas already released a pair of running shoes last year called adidas_1 footwear. “It is a running shoe with an embedded microchip that monitors the terrain underfoot and accordingly adjusts the level of shock absorption provided by the shoe’s heel.” (According to Forbes.com)

The following is some examples of “Wearable Technology”.

Createwear 
France Telecom

France Telecom created a flexible screen to project LED images that you can simply slide into your bag or under some specific shirt. The Bluetooth allows the wearer to project any image or message she wants from her paired phone. the General Packet Packet Radio Service (GPRS) allows the wearer to connect to the internet. The device itself is create a clothing that can truly capture the spirit of “Fashion is to express one’s personality”. The image is an effective way to express one’s individuality.

Hug Shirts 
Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz of Cute Circuit

According to the website, the user can hug without actually hugging each other! How they achieve this is the shirt sends signal to the user’s phone via bluetooth, and as the application encode the hug and send to the recipient of the hug, the bluetooth on the recipient’s phone then alert the recipient’s hug shirt to react and virtually sending a “text  message hug” to one another. “Sending hugs is as easy as sending an SMS and you will be able to send hugs while you are on the move, in the same way and to the same places you are able to make phone calls”

epiSkin
Marta Iwin

epiSkin is a wearable jewelry that uses biological technology to create sculptures that people can wear.They are epithelia cells which grow to create artificial skin. The cells are grown into designed forms by the artists. The creation of this jewelry involves biological technology, computer generated form technology, and human tissue culturing.

These are the few examples of wearable technology. These designs are very impressive and important since it signifies the possibility of what the future can hold. There are many more examples as wearable technology and behold the incredibly creative and futuristic designs!

As impressive these designs are, it does make me wonder though: will I EVER want to wear them?

Source: Forbes.com