Fashion Tech: Where Are We Headed Next?
by Emy Kane
Remember Google Glass? Yeah, me neither. Apple watches on the other hand? Well they’ve sold 3.6m in Q2 alone. So what’s the diff? Does our dislike of Google Glass harken back to the days of being called four-eyes? Bandaging broken frames with athletic tape? (Unfortunately I’ve experienced both first-hand.)
Even with the Warby Parker empire growing daily, it seems the fashion world isn’t ready to render themselves “geeks” for the sake of hands-free Instagramming. But tech’s role in fashion hasn’t let up: in fact, it has grown. Just in subtler ways.
It’s no secret that tech has seeped into every facet of our lives, and so fashion has been forced to integrate tech into its fabric. Take Apple Music for example. After Apple acquired Beats, the leading audio lifestyle brand, they rolled out an entire marketing strategy to target the fashion set with music’s leading style icons: FKA Twigs, Sam Smith, Pharrell, among others. Though these ads do not showcase product, they do showcase the omnipresent power tech has in our cultured, stylish lives. Through association with these style icons and a slick user interface, Apple Music became the chicest streaming accessory of the season.
Fashion has been forced to integrate tech into its fabric.
Brands have also incorporated tech in other ways. Take Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel SS16 show, where models wore LED sneakers down the runway. While maybe not immediately recognizable as “tech” per se, these Tumblr-like aesthetics demonstrated how tech has creeped into the sartorial vocabulary.
CuteCircuit, a London-based brand, is another such example. Since 2004, Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz have been crafting clothing and accessories made of smart textiles and micro-electronics. From LED handbags that display tweets to USB powered dresses, Katy Perry’s endorsement of their growing label makes it clear fashion and tech are growing closer by the day.
Katy Perry’s endorsement of their growing label makes it clear fashion and tech are growing closer by the day.
So how do you make “geek” chic? Sound off in the comment section, or tell us on our social channels!
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With love,
FWO
