It seems everything
today has to be ‘smart’,
from the cities around
you to the devices
in your pockets (or
manbag, if that’s how you choose
to live your life). Clothes are no
exception, especially when it
comes to big sportswear brands
like Under Armour – who are
ploughing significant sums into
R&D with wonder-textiles.
Well, what would big business
do if they weren’t finding new and
innovative ways to nab your data,
in this case by tracking your every
sweaty move as you crawl and
inch your way around a Tough
Mudder course?Cheer up, Matt. It’s the price you
pay for advancement, isn’t it?
No, seriously – as sensors and
transistors become increasingly
powerful, and as battery systems
and computer components
become increasingly flexible
and miniaturised, to the point
that they can now be printed
and woven into the very fibresof your clothes, companies’ ability
to stream data about you 24/7 is
improving dramatically. And that
data is a goldmine of information
that lets us analyse everything
from your form during your 5am
run and 6am gym workout, right
through to how you’re sleeping,
your posture, your state of health
and the type of foods you’ve eaten
today. And much more.So that’s the state of play now,
but what next?
As it gets easier to manufacture
smart clothes, it’s going to get
increasingly difficult to buy
clothes that aren’t smart. They’ll
be powered using triboelectric
fabrics that generate electricity
from your movements, and will
pack more supercomputing-like
power than your phone. Fromthe trainers on your feet to
the sweatshirt on your back,
everything will be smart. Well,
in one sense at least.See, you’re coming round now...
Just wait. Not only will your smart
clothes be able to warn you when
you’re getting ill, because they’ll
sense your core temperature
creeping up; they’ll also be able to
detect an increasingly wide range
of biomarkers including lactate,
glucose and metabolites, then
connect to your smart assistant
and design tailored meal plans to
fill any dietary gaps.
As we continue to see spectral
analysis sensors and sensing
systems miniaturise, it’s also not
beyond the realms of possibility
that one day your clothing will be
able not just to detect but also to
classify the pathogens and viruses
in the air around you – and on you.What about activity tracking?
Naturally, clothes will also be able
to measure your performance
during exercise and provide
real-time haptic feedback when
you’re not striking the right yoga
pose. And then, thanks to new
smart ceramic fabrics, they’ll
even be able to help you recover
and heal faster.
On top of all that, they’ll also
track your every movement.
Plus, because of their closeness
to your body, they could even
use your unique biomarkers and
micromovements, such as your
heartbeat, to identify you when
you’re paying for goods at a shop,
or when you’re getting into an
autonomous vehicle that, once
it knows it’s you, can access your
personal preferences and set itself
up accordingly.OK... so kind of cool, kind of
uncomfortably voyeuristically
terrifying, then?
Look, one day smart clothes could
even replace smartphones – for
example, by miniaturising their
componentry into a belt loop and
strapping an E Ink display onto a
Velcro patch on your sweatshirt.
Where we’re going we don’t need
mobiles, just a bigger wardrobe.CLOTHES COULD USE YOUR HEARTBEAT
TO IDENTIFY YOU WHEN SHOPPING OR
GETTING INTO AN AUTONOMOUS CAR
CLOTHES
ENCOUNTERS
THE FUTURIST
Matthew Griffin treads the connected
catwalk in search of fashion’s future
SPORTY
SPICEGoogle’s Project
Jacquard line (see
p68) has already
seen collaborations
with the likes of
Yves Saint Laurent
and Levi’s to add
sensors and web
connectivity to
clothes, but it’s
now stepping into
the world of sport
by working with
Adidas and EA to
connect football kit
to the videogame
world of FIFA. US
startup Asensei,
meanwhile, is
turning clothes into
personal coaches
that analyse your
skills using motion
capture tech. So
you could buy a
Tiger Woods golf
top, just to hear him
cast judgement
over your latest
tee shot. How the
tables have turned.