by Sagarika Gosavi
We all remember the time when internet was born and how it completely changed the global dynamics in every industry, fast forward in 2022 a post pandemic world; we cannot image our lives without any technological assistance.
Think about your daily routine; we wake with an alarm, schedule our day with our Ai assistant, use GPS even for a short distance. This unnoticeable behavior of codependency on technology is embedded in our lives and the more we are demanding, the more is the tech industry expanding its horizon to new inventions and creativity.
Until now we were aware to the concept of wearing technology on body with accessories like Google glasses, the apple watch and the Fitbit. But as time is evolving so is the idea of “wearable tech”. We might consider these gadgets just an extension to our anatomy; but one can image, what if this technology unifies with our most basic human need, Clothing.
I am not the only one to ask this question, Industry experts have always wondered, what will Fashion look like in the next 50 years? Little that we know, we are living with the answer itself.
Smart wearable tech Industry is a rising market with a potential to capitalize our economy, and has the capacity to enhance our user experience. According to Global smart wearable market research and Credit Suisse report, the wearable tech industry stands at an astonishing 11,300 Million USD, and is estimated to reach around $30 to $50 billion USD by 2025. That’s not a small number, and it definitely paves the way for the very idea of “Hybrid Textile”.
So what is hybrid tech textile? Is it just another Gen - Z slang; while it may seem like a complete paradox”, it has the capacity to change the way we look and consider Fashion overall. And no one could define this term better than, MIT trained New York based “Fashion Technologist” and wearable tech designer, Dr. Amanda Parks. In an 2014 interview with BOF Dr.Parks quoted “Fibre science is wearable technology in its purest form and I think the development of new smart textiles combining multiple layers of functionality is where this distinction will start to fade.” master in coding and building design structure, she believes that the very concept of fashion tech can solve problem with function and beauty. To put it in simple format, Hybrid tech textile is technology that is weaved within the fibers itself to make the fabric more interactive and unify it with its wearer.
Brands have already started to wrap their head around this concept, in 2014 Ralph Lauren introduced their “tech infused tennis shirt” (capable of monitoring heart rate, oxygen and stress level). In an interview with The New York Times; David Lauren (then) executive vice president for advertising and marketing for Ralph Lauren said that
"We skipped to what we thought was new, which is apparel. We live in our clothes.” (The New York Times and Business of fashion
Hybrid tech textiles has the capacity to transform an average piece of fabric and turn it into a “living and breathing” textile by weaving sensors and receptors within the fibers which gives birth to an interactive design, just like our skin.
This launch created a dynamo effect and throughout the years, major brands started to follow in the foot steps of smart wearable textile. In 2017 Google partnered with Levi’s for their “smart trucker jacket” build with a Jacquard sensor into their sleeves, the wearer can perform daily tasks like asking for direction, making a phone call by just touching their sleeve and without having to look at their phone!. (Checkout their Trucker jacket in action on Levi’s YouTube channel
Google's Ivan Poupyrev who was a major assistance in this hybrid collaboration quoted
“Textile is the only way to en cooperate technology and maximize its potential.” (Source BOF)
Fashion is evolving at the speed of light and technology has the capacity to sustain with its growth. All the major problems in our 3 trillion dollar industry, whether it be Sustainability, Mass production or textile waste pollution; can be solved with the help of Smart Technology. Today this idea may seem as far fetch dream, but As Arthur C. Clarke once quoted “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. And that, is enough to give us a ray of hope on this exciting journey for the union of Fashion & Technology.
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