A weekly roundup of what’s happening at the intersection of tech and fashion.
FESTIVE-THEMED WEARABLE TECH OF THE WEEK
Love it or hate it, THE HOLIDAYS ARE COMING. Now that wearing hideous festive jumpers seems to be acceptable in an ironic kinda way, why not upgrade with a new tech-enabled version this year? Grab yourself a knit by Morphsuits, then slip your phone into a built-in pouch–but only after downloading the Digital Dudz app. Then, sit back and get ready to impress as the design comes to life with a crackling digital fire, moving snow globe or carolling kitten (there’s even a creepy Santa Claus). While this isn’t the coolest wearable tech trend out there right now, if nothing else your Grandma will love it.
Videos by VICE
FASHION-MATCHING SHOPPING APP OF THE WEEK
Matchy-matchy fashions have been all over the catwalk lately, so it’s time to get into that coordinated styling vibe with the new (free) Snap ColourPop iPhone app. This nifty download lets you match to your outfit by colour to well… anything. If you’re out and about and see an object in a tone you just KNOW you’d look good in, simply take a picture – the app will then match the shade to clothes and accessories found in over 150 style retailers like Net-a-Porter, Topshop, and Matches. Using a specialised algorithm, Snap ColourPop is capable of sifting through over 120,000 products in seconds–and once you’ve found the perfect piece, you can buy it there and then.
FAKE GIRLFRIEND CONCEPT OF THE WEEK
With Christmas fast approaching, it’s not unusual to feel a little lonely at this time of year if you’re single. Luckily, a new site called InvisibleGirlfriend.com has come up with an inventive way to fend off pity from smug couples and/or annoying relatives–by creating a fake babe for you to brag about. Once you pick your imaginary partner from the digital library and customise her personality, believable ‘proof’ of your relationship starts rolling in with everything from voicemails to texts and even IRL gifts. You’ll even be official on Facebook. There are three price plans available: ‘Just Talking,’ ‘Getting Serious,’ and ‘Almost Engaged.’ Each has its own benefits, and don’t worry, no one’s judging here…
TECH-ENHANCED LINGERIE OF THE WEEK
With all the holidays taking place around this time of year, there’s a whole slew of tasty festive food on offer – and while we’re more than happy to dive right in, no doubt there are a few of you out there who don’t want to go too mental on the calories. Recent research has indicated that up to half of the US population claim to eat more when they are stressed–a condition that can lead to obesity through the likelihood of recurrence after being stressed at gaining weight. So developers at Microsoft Research have been busy working on innovative approaches to helping people curb the habit. One such method is a sensor-enabled bra, which monitors the wearer’s mood through bio-signal channels like the heartbeat before feeding the data back to a connected smartphone app. In a nutshell, if you can see your stress levels rising, it’s supposedly time to put down the mince pies (but where’s the fun in that?). Plus, many believe smart bras and wigs will never truly take off...
WEARABLE PERSONAL TRAINER OF THE WEEK
Here’s one for January. Let’s say you do overindulge this year, stress-sensitive bra or no stress-sensitive bra – what’s next? Forget the gym; 2014 will be all about upgrading to the Athos suit, which effectively works as a wearable personal trainer. Developed by two students from Canada’s University of Waterloo, the full-body garm comes equipped with miniature sensors that measures muscle activity, heart rate and respiration before transferring info to a small module called ‘The Core.’ From there, performance data is wirelessly translated into an Athos app available on your phone, so you can keep up-to-date with your fitness levels every workout. Having recently scooped $3.5FASHION FUTURE EDITORIAL OF THE WEEK
Another week, another new forward-thinking style editorial – we like. ‘Before Eden – Back to the Future’ is the highlight of FHM Collections China’s Fall/Winter 2013 issue, and has recently hit the Internet with its slick, futuristic photo series. Shot by Jumbo Tsui, male model Clement Chabernaud wanders a desolate alien landscape in designs by the likes of Givenchy, Raf Simons and Kenzo, with images occasionally distorted with geometric manipulations or miniature planet orbits.
