Technology gets a makeover as Fashion goes Futuristic

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only," Coco Chanel once said. "Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening".

 

And what is happening, now that everyone is a smartphone owner, is that fashion and technology, traditionally uncomfortable bedfellows, are coming together like never before.

Fashion editors were invited to the launch of the brand new Apple Watch, showing how much the ground has shifted. Google has teamed up with sunglasses brand Luxottica, which makes Ray Bans and Persol, to design a new range of its Glass wear.

And Natalie Massenet, Net A Porter's founder and chair of the British Fashion Council, declared she wanted London to be "the most tech-savvy fashion capital in the world," as she launched London Fashion Week with Google.

"Innovation is hugely important for brands to showcase," said Matthew Drinkwater, head of the fashion innovation agency at London College of Fashion. "There's recognition that the technology industry needs to engage with fashion lifestyle. All physical stores, not just premium brands, need to create a full experience for customers."

Drinkwater worked with Nokia on the first digital skirt made from mobile phones and with Microsoft on the first wireless charging trousers. He added: "The brand has to live online and offline."

Burberry, which has more than 17 million likes on Facebook, is one luxury brand that has fully embraced fashion tech. Burberry, the British fashion house, is a pioneer in fashion technology. It has integrated the physical and digital in its flagship stores in London, Hong Kong and Chicago. Mirrors become screens showcasing catwalk images. There are about 100 screens and 500 speakers. There are no cash tills (like Apple stores) and you pay on devices. You can even experience weather -- simulated rain showers/sounds of thunder -- just to remind you why you might need a Burberry trench coat. They've rolled out the augmented technology with intelligent mirrors to show the outfit you're trying as if you were the star of a catwalk show.

Luxury retailers have been early adopters of new technology and are more advanced in the field than high street retailers, with greater focus on enhancing the in-store experience with video and microchips in clothing for shoppers to interact with. Angela Ahrendts, the former CEO of Burberry who oversaw its digital revolution, was subsequently poached by Apple to help run their stores and develop new products.

Although the average town's main chains have been slower to embrace fashion technology, there are signs of change. Stores have begun to embrace "showrooming," where people examine the merchandise but purchase later online, often at lower cost, as an opportunity to engage.

Topshop put digital at the heart of its London Fashion Week show by inviting influential bloggers to curate, for example. Chains are also embracing innovation through augmented reality software. Using camera-equipped mobile devices, apps can take detailed personal measurements to ensure clothes will be a perfect fit.

The company Fits.me, founded in 2010, is a leading provider of virtual fitting room solutions. Clothes are photographed on robotic mannequins, allowing shoppers to try items on virtually. It means shoppers can try on every size with a few clicks and then choose the best fit.