Syuzi Pakhchyan

Christopher Raeburn’s latest collection “Raft” includes primary-colored inflatable latex puffer jackets that are far sexier than any life preserver. 

The collection with its darker “survival” theme is playfully juxtaposed with a novel use of colorful inflatable latex, essentially creating designer floaties for adults.

So why do I write about this on a wearable tech blog? It’s important to see how designers reconsider materials in order to create something that looks fresh and at the same time familiar. 

Richard Nicoll  sent a lovely, illuminated garment down the runway at London Fashion Week. The garment appears to be made from Lumigram fiber optic fabric. Although we’ve seen plenty of examples of Lumigram’s fiber optic fabric in use, Nicoll nailed the fluidity of the design (reminds me of jellyfish) that the fiber optic textile lends itself too. 

The project was done in collaboration with Studio XO and Disney. 

via Forbes

Below are some photos of Opening Ceremonies debut of MICA at New York Fashion Week. 

Enjoy!

Fashion is the tech industries latest muse. Check out the latest announcements of future collaborations between tech giants and fashions brands. 

1. Intel just announced a new collaboration with fashion brand Fossil.  

2. Guess recently announced a new collaboration with smartwatch maker Martian. 

3. Samsung collaborates with Swarovski to bling out its smartwatch.

4. Michael Bastian collaborates with HP for new smart watch design.

5. Swatch is bringing activity tracking to its watches.

Metamorphosis is an experimental wearable that responds to the wearer’s alcohol consumption. Designed with pleated origami sleeves that expand and contract, the wearable technology garment reflects the drinker’s confidence levels as she consumes alcohol. The more alcohol consumed, the higher the sleeves. It naturally also expresses how quickly someone has consumed alcohol and their intoxication levels. 

The garment is witty commentary on Korean drinking culture and the customary obligation to drink when invited. 

The garment was developed by a team of artists during a 5 day wearable hackathon in Seoul. 

More details regarding the wearable can be found here. 

Just before the start of New York Fashion Week, Intel reveals images of MICA, an acronym for “My Intelligent Communication Accessory,” their much anticipated collaboration with fashion house Opening Ceremony. 

Unlike most wearable tech jewelry that falls into the fitness category, MICA  is a lifestyle accessory competing with others like Ringly, Kovert, BlueJewlez, Elemoon and Rebecca Minkoff’s soon to debut smart baubles. 

MICA’s main functionality is that it handles your communication and social feeds acting like as alert mechanism. The difference between MICA and its predecessors (none by the way are on the market quite yet) is that it contains its own 3G cellular radio so it will not need to be tethered to your phone. 

MICAs main advantage is that it has an aesthetic edge compared to Ringly or Minkoff’s wearable jewelry. Made from snakeskin and embedded with pearls and stones, MICA will certainly appeal to the fashion crowd. 

My favorite design and usability feature is the curved touch screen display which is located on the inside of the wrist, allowing private messages to be displayed more discreetly. 

The bracelet will be available at Barneys and Opening Ceremony for the holiday season. The price tag is sure to be high which a luxury brand like Opening Ceremony can pull off. 

As Fashion Week approaches, I anticipate seeing a lot of new wearable tech pieces hitting the runway. Fashion companies have embraced wearable tech accessories transforming them into stylish jewelry pieces to fit the always connected and the on the go lifestyle of  20- and 30-somethings. 

Most of the accessories are low hanging fruit — mobile chargers or alert notification systems for their mobile devices — but the willingness for both the tech and fashion worlds to collaborate promises a bright and fashionable future for wearables. 

Rebbeca Minkoff is the latest designer to offer stylish accessories to juice your mobile phone or to offer you alerts of incoming call. The accessories will run between $60 – $120 — affordable considering Ringly starts at $195. 

Cute Circuit will be showing their second collection tomorrow on September 4rth at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Pioneers in the space of illuminated fashion, Cute Circuit has been making gorgeous illuminated wearables for over a decade. 

Stay tuned for more coverage. It’s going to be an exciting month!

Ralph Lauren has entered the wearable tech market with the debut of Polo Tech, a smart compression shirt that reads biometric data. Collabortaing with OMsignal, the Polo Tech shirt contains soft sensors that read respiration and heart rate as well as an accelerometer and gyroscope to capture movement. 

The Polo Tech shirt will be available in the spring and offered in a variety of patterns and colors. 

Incorporating technology into garments is a strategic move for the Ralph Lauren brand in an attempt to make the brand more current and “thoroughly modern,” stated David Lauren, executive vice president of advertising, marketing and corporate communications at Ralp Lauren Corp. 

Ralph Lauren’s move into wearables signifies a must needed shift from wearables gadgets that the current tech world is producing to etextiles — the inevitable future of wearable tech apparel. 

via WWD