How is technology shaping the future of fashion

(fashion, technology, gadgets, wallet, fashion tech)

The thought about combining fashion with high technology has existed among us for more
than 30 years for sure. Remember Marty McFly from the second sequence of Back to the
Future trilogy? He flew to the year 2015. and dressed up like teenagers were supposed to do at
that time, wearing a jacket that self-adjusted to the size of the owner and those cool Nike
shoes that laced themselves. His jacket could also speak and when he fell into the water, it
dried itself. Kids growing up in the 90's anticipated the year 2015. and imagined themselves
on hover boards and in flying cars.

It's the end of 2017., and non of those inventions truly came to life. Nike did try to bring to
life power-lacing Nike Mags1 in 2016., calling them HyperAdapt 1.0 and charging them 720
USD, but this price makes them far from affordable to the most people. So, is there a future in
combining fashion and technology? Can we integrate our high-tech gadgets into the clothing
and still make it comfortable to wear? Is this integration going to improve our lives, or just
annoy us with constant updates, battery fillings and other bugs?

The best way to predict the future is to see into the past, just like the movie Back to the Future
taught us. When we go further into the past, the examples of fashion following technology can
be traced all the way back to the year 1860s when Levi Strauss invented the blue jeans2. First
„blue jeans“ as they were called, were made of canvas he brought with him for the assembly
of tents, and painted with indigo. Later on, copper rivets were added to reinforce the points of
stress in strategic places such as on the pocket corners. The first manufacturing company of
Levi jeans was founded in Kansas, USA, in 1889. The company used new technology for

Ovaj tekst napisan je u svrhu zapošljavanja u Baggizmu i nije dozvoljeno koristiti ga bez dopuštenja autorice. Ela Naranđa
elanarandja@gmail.com
manufacturing and forever changed the face of the fashion. Not only that, we can safely say
blue jeans helped in improving gender equality because women working in the farms started
wearing them in 1930s. Fashion changed from decade to decade, but jeans always stayed, just
changing the shape or the style.

When you ask an average person what did the military research brought in terms of
technology, most people would say gunpowder, teflon (discovered in a space research) or
GPS. But in 1937 to test the viability of the first man made fiber developed entirely in a
laboratory, nylon female stockings were made. They made their way to the shops in 1940, and
the demand was so high that four million pairs were sold in just four days. “When you want to
develop a new fiber for fabrics you need thousands of pounds,” said Crawford Greenewalt, a
research supervisor during nylon development who later became company president and
CEO. “All we needed to make was a few grams at a time, enough to knit one stocking7.
During the WW2 nylon was diverted for making parachutes which were previously made of
silk. Stockings became so popular that in 1945. more than 40 000 people queued to get their
hands on a pair of stockings. Chemistry combined with fashion back then transformed our
world like high technology and fashion are doing today.

After the WW2, fashion became mass instead of couture3. Although sewing machine didn't
change much, in 1950s textile factories4 were founded with female workers working in shifts
to produce enough clothes to satisfy the masses. Dresses for women were celebrating the
female hourglass figure. For men, fashion was still a bit stiff, but that's about to change in the
60s.

1960s were probably one of the most exciting decades in human history. Television entered
homes faster than before, Martin Luther King occurred on the political scene, Kennedys
dictated the fashion trends and Apollo landed on the Moon. That might just be the most
important moment in human history, and its influence can of course also be seen in the
fashion industry. Space age clothes was designed – made out of different materials such as
discs of metal or plastic linked together with wires or strings5. Metallic and neon colors were
trending, and the appearance of Andy Warhol brought a lot of ideas to life. He used optical
illusions on clothes that looked like it was „brought to life“.

Ovaj tekst napisan je u svrhu zapošljavanja u Baggizmu i nije dozvoljeno koristiti ga bez dopuštenja autorice. Ela Naranđa
elanarandja@gmail.com
Andy Warhol dresses

Finally, the 70's arrived and we can seriously talk technology – LCD screen was invented,
microprocessor, VCR, the first video game Pong, ethernet, laser printer, ink jet printer and
cellphones. The 1970s was also a time of momentous change in fashion, not only in the look
of clothes but also in the way they were designed, made, distributed, and consumed6. Colors
and patterns were all around, and hippie movement was at its peak. Nowadays retro fashion
takes inspiration from the technology of 70s and 80s, where Pong and Pac Man (released in
May 1980.) are a theme:

Pong shirt Pac Man shirt

Ovaj tekst napisan je u svrhu zapošljavanja u Baggizmu i nije dozvoljeno koristiti ga bez dopuštenja autorice. Ela Naranđa
elanarandja@gmail.com
Finally, the gadget fashion era – 80s and 90s!

Now this is a story all about how

My life got flipped-turned upside down
And I'd like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air
...I put my Walkman on and said, "I might as well kick it."8

Now this is a story all about how fashion got flipped-turned upside down. It's not about the
jeans, jackets, shirts or skirts anymore – it's all about gadgets. And since it's the 80s and 90s
we are talking about, these gadgets are huge. Carrying BoomBox around was what every
respected fan of the hip hop music did, and The Beastie Boys and The Clash made this trend
mainstream.

Sony had the opposite idea of the BoomBox when promoting Walkman - it was to make
music special and private for the listener. Sony was probably the first brand to use what we
call today influencers9 to promote their products. They sent 100 of Walkmans to popular
editors and musicians. After that they started the “There’s a Revolution in the Streets.”
campaign which did not just sell the product – it sold a lifestyle. In the early 2000s, Apple
used the same approach when introducing the iPod, and took over the market from Sony. Of
course, there were also cellphones, Nintendo, digital watches...

Walkman campaign and influencers: Since the Walkman was a little too big to be fit in the
pocket, it was worn outside of the jeans. This was a big hurdle, but with the help of
advertisements and pop culture, this problem quickly became a benefit of ownership. The
Walkman was now like a badge that showed off your wealth and technological prowess.

Ovaj tekst napisan je u svrhu zapošljavanja u Baggizmu i nije dozvoljeno koristiti ga bez dopuštenja autorice. Ela Naranđa
elanarandja@gmail.com
Fashion and technology, among other things, have in common that they constantly improve.
Besides, fashion tends to move in circles and some long forgotten trend might soon come
back to life again. In the past new technologies determined the fashion trends, but now new
technology relies on fashion to become popularized. That being said, fashion can also bring
old technology back to life, or at least use its looks on a new, improved gadgets or clothes.
The example is above mentioned Pong/Pac Man shirt, or an iPhone 6 case that looks like old
Nokia 3310.

More than ever, fashion trends are dictated by the online community (web sites like 9gag,
College Humor, Buzzfed, Pinterest, Dudepins, Unilad, Lad Bible) and by influencers on
Instagram and other social networks. These tools and platforms along with technology impact
purchase decisions today and shape it. Fashion is not anymore dictated exclusively by fashion
weeks or well known celebrities. Thanks to the social networks, every next door girl or boy
can become a trend-setter. But the biggest change is that technology is now incorporated
into fashion and it is transformative and this new direction is called the Fashion Tech.

Gadgets are not a separated items anymore, instead they share the function with our clothing,
bags, shoes, wallets... The clothes does not hold our devices, instead it embodies them. Smart
watch today communicates with the smart phone, measures heart beat, knows your location,
counts steps and speed. Scarf is not only there to cover your neck when it's cold outside, but it
can also be an inflatable helmet that saves your life in an accident. Shoes are not only made
for walking, but will also on the future collect kinetic energy and charge batteries. Dress can
be 3D printed or alive, showing live tweets or light to the beat of the song. Ring can now be
used to unlock doors, share links on social networks, unlock phones, share pictures...

Dita von Teese, first 3D printed dress

Ovaj tekst napisan je u svrhu zapošljavanja u Baggizmu i nije dozvoljeno koristiti ga bez dopuštenja autorice. Ela Naranđa
elanarandja@gmail.com
Now that our whole lives are connected, safety is becoming an increasing issue. Fashion tech
already gave the answer to that question with Baggizmo Wiseward smart wallet that
communicates with the smartphone trough Bluetooth 2 and can be traceable at any time,
detects a movement, charges wirelessly and has a blue UV light for detecting counterfeit
banknotes. This is the example of the gadget that already is affordable for the most people,
and even saves your investment given the fact that it's theft-proofed.

Baggizmo Wiseward smart wallet

So what is happening right now and what is soon to come?

Adidas is trying to be the first one to grasp 3D printing technology so it can customize shoes
for its customers. Jacket mentioned in the Back to the Future movie is soon-to-be made.
Google and Levi's joined forces on creating the smart jacket that monitores functioning of the
whole body, and is waterproof. We have yet to see how fashion is going to be combined with
bio-engineering but researches on that are on-going. Tech companies are all the time on the
verge of a major breakthrough in fashion, and it's only a matter of time when these new
products will become both useful and accessible to everyone.

Matt Hermes, a former chemist for DuPont who worked with some of the early developers of
synthetics and wrote a biography on nylon’s inventor Wallace Caruthers, said in 1941.: „All
around us are the products of modern chemistry, window shades, draperies, upholstery and
furniture, all are made of, or covered with, something that came from a test-tube... in this new
world of industrial chemistry, the horizon is unlimited“7. In the years to come, this sentence
should be: in this new world of high technology, the horizon is unlimited.

Ovaj tekst napisan je u svrhu zapošljavanja u Baggizmu i nije dozvoljeno koristiti ga bez dopuštenja autorice. Ela Naranđa
elanarandja@gmail.com
USED LITERATURE:

1. Nike Mags
2. Blue jeans
3. Fashion history 1
4. Textile factory Korea 50s
5. 60s fashion
6. 70s fashion
7. Nylon
8. Fresh Prince Lyrics
9. Walkman
10. Additional ideas from web pages like:
- https://baggizmo.me/
- www.businessoffashion.com (/articles/fashion-tech)
- http://www.thecoolist.com
o http://www.thecoolist.com/the-tech-of-fashion-10-ways-technology-
drives-tomorrows-fashion/
- www.huffingtonpost.com
o https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/technology-is-shaping-the-
future-of-fashion_us_5995ff2fe4b02eb2fda31e3d
- www.engadget.com
o https://www.engadget.com/2017/05/23/the-future-of-fashion-and-
technology/
- https://www.thesnugg.com/The-Combination-of-Fashion-and-Technology-Past-
Present-and-Future.aspx
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelarthur/2016/12/19/8-tech-trends-that-will-
shape-the-future-of-fashion-and-luxury-retail-in-2017/
- https://fashiontechfestival.com/

Ela Naranđa

Ovaj tekst napisan je u svrhu zapošljavanja u Baggizmu i nije dozvoljeno koristiti ga bez dopuštenja autorice. Ela Naranđa
elanarandja@gmail.com