Tag: Wearable Technology

fashion, design, met gala, vogue

A Love Letter to Fashion

Allison MillerLeave a comment

I was born a fashionista. From the white socks with the rainbow beads tied around the edges to subscribing to Vogue, fashion has always been my lover. So imagine my delight when over the past few weeks I have been inundated with instances of how fashion and design are colliding in incredible ways.

These are not simply the latest fall trends. Nor are they highly tech oriented explorations which still have the Arduino boards attached to them. No. These are beautiful, refined pieces of fashion that go above and beyond the call of duty and achieve something truly remarkable.

The following are my 3 favorite instances:

1. Seated Design: As if I needed another reason to love NPR, they had to go and report on designer Lucy Jones. Inspired by her cousin who is paralyzed, she wanted to created a fashion line that was both stylish and usable for those in a wheel chair. What resulted was a refined collection with clean lines and user centered designs. The article goes on to talk about students at the Fashion Institute of Technology who designed for veterans with prosthesis and a blogger who lobbies for stores to carry accessible clothing.

fashion, wearable technology, design, universal design

2. Danit Peleg: A brand new fashion design graduate, she promoted this video in july exploring an entire fashion collection made with a 3D printer. Not only are the designs lovely, but this collection pushed the boundaries of 3D printing bringing it out of the tech nerd’s lab and into a environment of elegance. I am so excited to see where she goes.

3D printing, wearable technology, design, fashion

3. Thinx: Finally, I have to give a shout out to any lady who can successfully use fashion to advocate for women’s rights. Just today, I stumbled upon the ladies of Thinx. They have developed what might be the most insane thing I have seen in a long time. They have designed underwear for your period sans pad or tampon! I know. It seems crazy, but as I (and Buzzfeed) looked into it, i discovered how brilliant these are, and how tirelessly these ladies have been working to develop Thinx. Also, can we just talk about the crazy good branding!? Plus, every pair your buy, supports reusable pads for school girls in developing countries. Being a cause close to my heart, I could definitely get behind that!?

periods, women and girls, fashion, health, underwear, design, technology

So, a huge “WOOO!!” to all the awsome ladies using fashion, design, and technology to help transform lives. Never have I been so proud to be a fashionista.

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A Wearable Tech Extravaganza

Allison Miller1 Comment

As of my last post, I was about to head back to Atlanta. Well, after 2 straight days of driving, I arrived in Atlanta late Thursday night. My thirst for sightseeing and the quest to take the ultimate travelogue photo with my 35mm put me significantly behind schedule, but I am hoping that the photos will make it worth it. Highlights included a fruitless search for Iowa’s largest frying pan, a visit to Metropolis, U.S.A., and some absolutely stunning Kentucky farm towns. All I need to do now is finish half a role of film and find a developer. Once that’s done, I’ll take these pictures and my other remnants to make a sort of “road trip info graphic” if you will.

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To the main event, however. For the next two days after my return to Atlanta I was running around as a volunteer for Georgia Tech’s 2015 Wearable Symposium. Like many areas of design, I knew very little about wearable tech. When you hear the term, most people think Fit Bits and Google Glass. While that’s not incorrect, those mass marketed product only scratch the surface of what wearable technology can be.

The speakers were as diverse as the field and ranged from textile companies developing chip integrated fabrics, to a researcher developing custom fit head products in Asian markets, and local firm talking about the role of cadence in interactive products. Every presenter and speaker had a new perspective to offer, and discussions ranged from fashion and planned obsolescence, to strategies for technology adoption. Tech was even able to toot their own horn and show off a range of projects including shoes that would allow parents to track children and a circuit embedded tee shirt that encouraged kids to learn about technology.

By the end of the event, I was exhausted and slap happy. All I could think is that if I was exhausted, I couldn’t imagine how our rock star organizers felt. After the final exhibit was taken down, the remaining volunteers sat around and popped the left over white wine, poured in a little Sprite and orange juice, and toasted to an incredible weekend. We divvied up the last of the food, loaded up our cars and parted ways.

I cannot say for certain if wearable tech will be part of my future, but I can say with complete certainty that it is an incredibly exciting field and one that is filled with tremendous potential and innovation.