The Hussein Chalayan and Intel connected accessories on the runway at Paris Fashion Week (Image... [+]
Technology isn’t normally the first thing you think about when it comes to Paris Fashion Week. The home of the most traditional of luxury brands, it remains the slowest on the uptake of much in the way of both digital and technical innovation, instead sticking with more conventional collections and catwalk shows.
Unless you turn to Hussein Chalayan that is.
The Cypriot-British designer has long experimented with the relationship between his garments and the role technology can play. He has introduced looks that changed shape thanks to microchips and animatronics, dresses embedded with 15,000 LEDs to recreate a pixelated screen and even a coffee table that turned into a skirt.
“Only with technology can you create new things in fashion. Everything else has been done,” he has previously said.
Turn to today then, and he’s partnered with Intel to bring something new in the shape of wearable tech to his spring/summer 2017 fashion week show. As models walked the runway, visual projections showcased their stress levels on the wall beside them, via biofeedback being sent from the connected accessories they were wearing.
The Hussein Chalayan and Intel connected accessories on the runway at Paris Fashion Week (Image... [+]
Glassses powered by the Intel Curie module gathered biometric data from three sensors – one with capacitive electroencephalogram (EEG) electrodes to monitor brainwave activity, one to capture and measure heart rate variability, and the other a microphone to pick up on breathing rates. Combined they were able to infer stress in real-time.
That data was then communicated to a belt via a Bluetooth LE connection. Powered by the Intel Compute Stick, which is a computing device the size of a stick of gum, that data was then translated into the visualizations displayed on the wall as the models moved down the runway; made possible by small Pico projectors housed within the belts.
The idea was to aid in the awareness and proactive management of stress – meaning the models could initiate stress reduction, or breathing techniques, and experience how the imagery changed in response.
Sandra Lopez, vice president of the New Technology Group at Intel, said: “In today’s society we’re constantly surrounded by stress… When we talked with Hussein Chalayan it was about concern as to what’s happening in our environment and the stress of everyday... We said, wouldn’t it be great for technology to manage that proactively? We know stress is a catalyst for many other diseases, so we wanted to help manage that and the mental mindset. Our whole goal with wearables is improving human lives.”
The Hussein Chalayan and Intel projection being tested ahead of the Paris Fashion Week show (Image... [+]
A series of five studies were shown via the projections, including outer measure, stiff upper lip, beings, imminence of danger and omnipresence. The "Room Tone" theme of the show at large, is about simultaneous reactions and proposals on how certain attitudes or realities in London life can be experienced or optimized; about exploring emotion and self-expression in the digital era.
Said Chalayan himself: "I have been working with wearable technology for many years. Throughout this time, it has been very important for me to work on ideas which will be as close as possible to a real product while also challenging myself at the same time. Intel's years of experience, out of the box mentality, commitment to innovation, and level of perfection has made this project one of the most valuable and exciting collaborations for me in recent years."
The connected accessories shown on the runway are proof of concept at this stage, so don’t expect to see them on the market come next spring, but Lopez refers to them as part of a broader roadmap.
The Hussein Chalayan and Intel connected accessories being tested on one of the models (Image... [+]
“Often these [ideas] come out of our R&D labs and we don’t know if they’re really possible, so we will find partners to push the boundaries of innovation and creativity, and have designers and engineers challenge each other on them. From there we are able to understand what we can commercialize and what we can’t. From this [project with Chalayan] we’ll identify the sensors that are commercially ready and be able to integrate them into other product lines.”
Intel has already worked with the likes of Oakley on the Radar Pace smart eyewear and Opening Ceremony on the MICA smart bracelet for instance.
“We’ve seen tremendous progress with the fashion industry as a whole bringing fashion and technology together – the conversations that are happening, the brands coming out with wearables or smart garments, or smart retailing – we’re starting to see a tipping point happening.”
She suggests creating such a new market (for wearables) takes around five years and at this point we’re in probably year 3.5. As the technology advances, especially around soft computing and being able to deliver fabric like capabilities, and the industries work more together, we will see much more adoption in the near future, she explains.
“It’s not if, it’s when. We’re a couple years out but we’re starting to see significant progress… I believe fashion and technology are at the heart of modern culture. Bringing Intel and Chalayan together is a glimpse into the future of our world,” she adds.
In the meantime, the five studies shown will be on display in London after Paris Fashion Week at the Design Museum’s Fear and Love: Reactions to a Complex World exhibition, starting in November.
