Last month I attended the INTERLACED 2015 ‘Future of Smart Fashion’ Show that was held at Corbet Place, Shoreditch London. We have spoken about Interlaced in the past and this show was just the first step in bringing together some enthusiastic minds from different areas of the fashion industry.
Shoreditch was the perfect place to host this event as it’s viewed as an area that’s constantly changing but nearing maturity. A little bit like the fashion technology sector 🙂 Sure many of us have heard about 3D printing and wearables but is this technology ready for mass consumption or just another trend that will be forgotten about?
Since I was scheduled to appear on stage to talk about the ever changing nature of fashion and technology I decided to loosen my nerves and meet some enthusiastic entrepreneurs I normally only chat to through a computer screen.
Noemie (above) is the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Clausette, a magazine about the future of fashion and she came fully prepared with a 3D printed bag from Exocet Paris. The beautiful thing about 3D printing is the ability to create complex shapes and designs that would have been impossible with current manufacturing methods and at a fraction of the cost the ability to customise designs to your liking is sure to raise some eyebrows.
FORMBYTIME electromechanical jewellery was my personal highlight once I stepped indoors. The pieces are designed by Leonhard Peschta whose family has a long history of making jewellery in their studio in Vienna although I doubt anything of this sort was even considered in the 1930s.
Each piece can change its shape, capturing the aesthetics of motion and allowing the wearer to interact with the jewellery via Bluetooth. It’s a bit of a surreal experience when you see it before you for the first time so check out the video to see the jewellery in action.
Apart from forgetting one of the questions my time on stage was short and sweet. I was joined by Villy Devlioti from Cult LDN and Ivailo Jordanov from Styloko and we discussed the blurring lines between fashion and technology and the increasing importance of social media and influencers for any modern business.
Keep your eyes peeled for the videos as all the talks were recorded and Interlaced managed to get some pretty impressive names and topics on the agenda such as augmented reality and the future of retail marketing.
SMART TECHNOLOGY CATWALK
After a short break Corbet Place was transformed into a fashion technology runway show and I think I’m right in saying it’s one of the first of it’s kind in London. Pairing fashion designers with tech creators showed that the lines between fashion and technology are blurring and with the falling costs and rising interest it’s only a matter of time before the sensor rich future envisioned in Minority Report is all around us.
The dresses above might look like they came out of a dystopian sci-fi movie but they’re actually created by a Dutch designer Maartje Dijkstra. Maartje specialises in organic, surrealistic and hand drawn prints and the dresses above are her attempt of bringing those illustrations to life. The concept becomes even more interesting when you realise that real ink flows inside the transparent 3D printed tubes like blood running through our veins.
Another highlight was the the Kimbow interactive dress from Eef Lubbers which senses your posture and changes colour to amplify the message your body brings across.
The thread structure of the dress changes colour in a way that creates an outward movement as demonstrated by Sabina from one of our favourite travel blogs – Girl vs Globe
One of my favourites from the catwalk was the futuristic LED dress that changes colour depending on the movement of it’s wearer. Fusing art and technology, the dress was created by esteemed fashion designer, Rebecca Street, and pioneering technology studio, Seeper.
Worm by the stunning Claudia Bronowicki, the dress has to be seen to be truly appreciated and it’s not surprising that it’s first outing was on the red carpet at the BAFTA awards in May. I managed to grab a quick video during the show so make sure to check it out.
The design utilises multiple sensors attached around the body, a dynamic system of raw data is captured and then analysed to detect the motions and gestures of the wearer, which, in turn, drives the graphics rendering.
STYLEGRAM
I hope you enjoyed learning about the developments in this exciting and growing industry and if you didn’t have the time then the video above should give you a little taster. Make sure to stay up to date with Style Division using the links below and read our latest Technology / Futurology Roundup 🙂
