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Amazon Echo Loop
Smart accessories aren’t new. The
health-tracking oura ring has been
around for a while... but when
Amazon gets in on the game, things
look a whole lot more serious. The
new titanium and stainless steel
Echo Loop smart ring comes with
a built-in mic and speaker so you
can summon Alexa at will – and it’ll
handle simple tasks like building
to-do lists, controlling your smart
home and asking the all-knowing
virtual assistant what’s on your
shopping list.
$130 / amazon.com
UA Meridian
It might sound like sorcery, but
Under Armour has developed a
range of fitness gear called Meridian
that moisturises your skin while
you’re working out. Delivering skin
care while you sweat, the fabric
contains a chemical called Antarcine
(found in the Antarctic) that
reacts with the skin to create
a moisturising effect without the
need for lotion. And that’s just the
start of what the company’s lab
boffins think mineralised, infused
fabrics could be used for.
£tbc / underarmour.co.uk
Hexoskin AstroSkin
Clothes could someday replace
watches, straps and fitness bands
in tracking our vitals 24-7. The
machine-washable Hexoskin
AstroSkin was developed to
monitor astronauts in space.
It packs textile-based ECG
and respiratory sensors that
continuously measure heart rate,
blood pressure, blood oxygen levels,
breathing, skin temperature and
movement. And it connects to an
AI-powered app health dashboard
for a complete status update.
£N/A / hexoskin.com
Nurvv
Your walk reveals a lot about your
health and fitness. Sensor-laden
shoes and smart insoles that track
your daily strides are stepping into
view to help us decode our strides.
While UA’s new chipped HOVR
Machina shoes coach you while
you run, Nurvv’s smart soles detect
injury risks and help you take action.
Other makers are working on
real-time gait-analysing smart
inserts that can be used to identify
fall risk, Parkinson’s and even signs
of Alzheimer’s.
£250 / nurvv.com
UA Breeze T-Shirt
Fitness gear has long boasted
about sweat-wicking prowess.
But now the standard bearer for
waterproofing, Gore, has upped
the stakes with a fabric technology
that takes mid-workout moisture
control to the next level. The Under
Armour Breeze T-Shirt features
Gore-tex Infinium, a type of
fast-drying technical fibre that
goes from sweat-soaked to
virtually dry in just six minutes.
So you can work hard and cool
down without getting chilly.
£50 / underarmour.co.uk
Not all smart clothing is interwoven
with electronics: brands like Vollebak
work with wonder-materials and a lot
of science instead. Some textiles can
help regulate body temperature; but
if your plan is to become a cyborg
one day, the idea is to embed the sort
of sensors now found in trackers into
the clothes themselves.
Fits a kind of magic
Levi’s Jacquard
by Google
Google’s experimental wearable
Jacquard technology combines an
embeddable sensor with an app to
let users control their devices with
their clothes – or more accurately,
trigger their tech with gestures
while wearing their clothes. It’s
currently integrated in Levi’s
Trucker and Sherpa Jackets and can
summon Google Assistant features
like traffic and news updates, or let
you take a selfie by double-tapping
your jacket sleeve.
from £140 / levi.com
Myant Active
Thermal Workwear
Imagine clothes that didn’t just read
your body’s state but responded to
it. This active thermalwear collab
between Myant and Helly Hansen
does just that. Designed for
working in extreme conditions,
the baselayer top, leggings, socks,
balaclava and gloves feature
a dynamic temperature system
that senses and regulates body
temperature, delivering heat
through the fabric when the outfit
clocks it’s gone brass monkeys.
£tbc / myant.ca
Smart clothing is an experimental area, but investing in
futuristic undies or overcoats can turn you into a tech ninja
Vollebak Solar
Charged Jacket
A dazzlingly different take on how
clothes can keep us safe at night,
the Vollebak Solar Charged Jacket
features a phosphorescent
compound that rapidly stores and
re-emits the light it comes into
contact with. Load it up from
any light source and you’ll get
battery-free instant visibility
when darkness descends. You can
even use your phone torch to
scribble on it and turn your upper
body into a walking billboard.
£345 / vollebak.com