With the Internet of Things technology already making its presence felt across majority of the industries around us, it is obviously inevitable for the fashion industry to not get inspired by this next generation technology we are so excited about! Imagine how wonderful it will be to own t- shirts that reflect the individual’s mood, rompers that will monitor your babies activities, suits that will protect us against pollution or something that will stay in close contact to the body in order to provide timely information about our health conditions. As innovative as it sounds, the truth is that a plethora of manufacturing companies out there have already put this idea of combining the Internet of Things technology with the ever- flourishing world of fashion.
So how exactly will the Internet of things technology affect the fashion industry or on a smaller scale, the clothes that we wear on everyday basis? What are the possible advantages of letting IoT join hands with the fashion industry and which are the current companies that have already taken a step in this direction? We will be finding answers to these entire questions in this post today. Internet of Things collaborating with fashion is probably one of the biggest as well as most innovative advancements that have taken place ever since the ideology of IoT was first brought into the market scenario. Without wasting much time, let us take a look at what exactly will happen when Internet of Things meets fashion.
The Concept of Internet of Things meeting Fashion
The clothes inspired by the IoT technology is a living proof of the booming fabric industry which has grown many folds during the last decade. Textile specialists in association with top IoT companies have been manufacturing interactive as well as environment- friendly fibres and fabrics which are laid with conductive and communicating threads. These threads work as an interactive entity between an individual’s body as well as the clothes. For this purpose there are GPS system makers, electronic circuits and other chip makers who are bringing more compact, water- resistant as well as flexible devices which can be easily embedded into garments and footwear without causing any danger or inconvenience to the individual.
Smart fabrics for people in high- risk jobs
There are smart as well as less- reactive fabrics being created for people who are involved in high risk jobs such as the firemen, people in the military as well as other armed forces. These smart garments are also helpful in monitoring patient’s health and condition in hospitals. This is one of the prime reasons why the sport gear industry has been investing more and more into the idea of Internet of Things. The benefit of smart IoT inspired sports gear is that it not only monitor’s an individual’s performance while working out; rather it also helps people exercising in extreme conditions to locate their automatic GPS location by triggering alerts in case of any emergency or critical conditions as detected by the smart garment. These smart clothes are also helpful in protecting joggers from going off their tracks as well as make the location more visible during dark hours.
Fashion joins hands with Internet of things technology
The world of fashion has already come across the era where we have seen dresses changing their colour due to various sensors embedded in them. We have also seen the much- hyped “hug t- shirts” that can be connected over Bluetooth for the purpose of sending hugs to someone who is far away and is wearing the same hug shirt.
The world has already come across LED- lit suits and garments, thanks to those sci-fi Hollywood movies. One thing that can be peculiarly interpreted from this is that the future of fashion industry will become brighter than expected once the Internet of Things technology starts to make its presence felt.
With almost all of the connected apparel sitting in the well- being sector, the fashion industry as well as designers are brainstorming to find the breakthrough apparel line that will prove IoT’s home- coming into the fashion industry. The world has already witnessed models walking down the ramp in shimmering dresses, which are nothing but LED lights and sensors embedded carefully into their wardrobe.
If we take into consideration the fashion industry combined with Internet of Things as a larger than life scenario, just imagine how wonderful it will be to have our clothes connected wirelessly with apps on our smart phones. It will certainly make life easier for people since they will be able to change the colour of the same shirt/ skirt with just a single tap on their smart phone!! Just imagine the amount of money people can save by not having to invest in different coloured wardrobe options.
When Apple few months back announced the arrival of the Apple Watch, both the fashion as well as the telecom industry was taken by storm. However, with the introduction of IoT technology in the fashion industry, it is high time we get over the concept of smart watches as well as fitness bands!!
Fashion Internet of Things Technology Examples
• Visijax Commuter Jacket: This smart jacket from Visijax concentrates on improving the safety of cyclists. Thanks to its Teflon coating, this jacket is thoroughly water- proof and due to overall ventilation, there is no chance with the cyclist feeling hot or sweating unnecessarily. However, this is not the only tech- related part of this IoT inspired jacket. It also comes with a rechargeable battery pack which powers a set of red and white LED lights. There are car- styled indicators which get automatically activated even when the rider is having both his hands on the handlebars.
• Lauren Bowker’s EEG- equipped headband: This designer headband will instruct your clothes to change colour based on your current mood. This is yet another way for the individual to automatically change the colour of their outfit whenever they want. Whether it is selecting the sensible black/ grey for office or striking the perfect red dress for that cocktail party you are heading to, EEG- equipped headband from Lauren Bowker will be your one- step fashion destination. So how exactly does Bowker make this possible? Basically, Bowker has made an ink which is capable of detecting the changes taking place in the air quality, moisture, UV light as well as heat. Clothes that are made with this kind of ink will switch between different colours depending on the changes taking place in the environment.
Since we have already come across lots of examples for IoT inspired fashion, let us take a look at what the Internet of Things technology has in store for babies. Exmobaby is a pair of smart pyjamas especially designed for babies. These pyjamas consist of in- built movement sensors, thermometer as well as ECG monitor which will monitor your baby’s health during all times. These elements are carefully woven into the fabric and it makes use of an FM transmitter for sending data to an external station, which also makes sure that your baby is at a safe distance from electronics.
Looking at all these examples, we can surely conclude that the Internet of Things joining hands with fashion will make way for some of the best innovative discoveries that the world is yet to see!
Comments are closed.