My Fashion Life

Everyone at the moment seems to be speculating about fashion’s future with Time magazine suggesting the industry is in a “state of medical emergency” and rightly so. Fashion is undoubtly stagnant and stale and with the number of celebrity labels which have infiltrated the market it is no wonder that it has become solely about marketing, i.e Topshop and Kate Moss.

Watching footage of Hussein Chalayan’s show at Paris fashion week Spring/Summer 07 showed and gave hope to all that there is a future and an interesting one at that. Not the first designer to mix technology into fashion, (there are others before such as Alexandra Fede.)

However Chalayan communicated the idea that technology could play an important role effectively and successfully. Using technology to create movement with zippers, hemlines and sleeves and to transform structure. He’s connected the two industries at a time when we are all in desperate need of refreshing and new ideas.

The relationship between fashion and technology got off to a slow start and I must say I doubted if it would work and whether consumers would be accepting of it. But I’m absolutely certain now that technology is fashion’s future.

It’ll be exciting to see the different ways designers will incorporate technology into fashion to create style in their collections.

How interesting, a friend of mine has been constantly saying how fashion and technology could compliment each other and I just haven’t been able to see his vision. My head can’t get around clothes being technologically functional, it’s just not the time yet. However there is a market for it and a leading designer in this field. Alexandra Fede is named the first Scientific Fashion Designer. Her philosophy when designing a garment is not only it’s beauty but also “the functionalities of garments along with the protection and well being of the person”. She has created the concept “Stressless”

a fabric based on natural fibres like silk, cotton or wool with woven in an invisible trilobal carbon core fibre that actively protects from electromagnetic radiations and dissiapates electrostatic charges.

Her work is very interesting and extremely futuristic and she’s partcipating in this years CTIA Wireless 2004 - Fashion In Motion runway show.

“Wireless technology has inspired new products and features in the technology, clothing and accessory industries and Fashion in Motion brings that all together. Models in this couture style runway show wear the latest in high fashion while displaying mobile devices demonstrating the hottest items on the market today as well as the most futuristic technology of tomorrow,” said Steve Largent, President and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA).

The show will feature more goodies such as this:

– Thinking Materials Phone Watch - Is it a watch? Is it a phone? It’s both! This wearable communicator helps you keep in touch and on time. A full function wireless phone with Bluetooth connectivity to a headset.

and much more.

For a while every one has been wondering what next, where will fashion go? Is Science and Technology the answer?