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Want to stay up to date with the latest fashion and fashtech news from around the globe? Check out our new feature, a monthly digest, with some of the quirky, innovative and exciting fashion news.
Temporary Tattoos Going Tech
The 90s fad of temporary tattoos is making a comeback – with a twist. Researchers at MIT and Microsoft have teamed up to create DuoSkin, temporary tattoos that can double as a user interface for your phone and other mobile devices, store data, and light up based on your body temperature.
In addition to futuristic fashion statements, tech tattoos can also help in the health sector. For example, companies such as Nemaura are tackling function with fashion. Launching in early 2017, sugarBEAT® is a non-invasive needle-free glucose measurement patch that can be worn on your arm as a temporary tattoo in order to monitor diabetes with noninvasive technology.Consumers are increasingly seeking to buy a product that not only fits their personal style, but also fits their lifestyle. This is true when it comes to smartphones offering a range of apps and services beyond “phone calls”, and it is becoming more and more apparent in the fashion industry with wearables. Fashion is one thing, but if a product is also multi-functional, it can widen the target market and add an extra level of appeal for consumers.
A $20 Billion Opportunity for the Apparel Industry
The average American woman now wears between a size 16 and 18, while the average UK size is 12. With over 100 million plus-size women in America, the annual sales of women’s plus-size apparel is up 17% from to $20.4 billion this year.
Plus-size consumers have increased their spending, yet, there is still a lack of fashionable clothes targeting this large market. This was eloquently written by Tim Gunn in a recent piece asking why the apparel industry are not making enough clothes for plus-sizes. He wrote:
Torrid Fall 2016 denim campaign
“They say the plus-size woman is complicated, different and difficult, that no two size 16s are alike….Have you shopped retail for size 14-plus clothing? Based on my experience shopping with plus-size women, it’s a horribly insulting and demoralizing experience. Half the items make the body look larger, with features like ruching, box pleats and shoulder pads. Pastels and large-scale prints and crazy pattern-mixing abound, all guaranteed to make you look infantile or like a float in a parade.”
Is the industry ready to start designing, adjusting and sizing up fashion for this consumer sector? It seems, those who will cater to this changing shape will have the opportunity to flourish.
Is Fashion stuck in the 20th century?
With New York Fashion Week coming to an end, and London Fashion Week about to start, the Daily Beast looked at some of the trends we are set to see in 2017. For them, it is the same predictability as “the big store buyers are now forced to flood the floors with the things they know will sell.”
Seasons are regurgitating the same looks and themes. One year it’s the 1970s hippy, the next year it’s a nineties fashion revival, androgynous girl-boy apparel, renaissance ruffles, and then the cycle begins again. Are designers losing their creativity, or are they interested in selling what the consumer wants?
According to the article, Valerie Steele, director and chief curator at the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology, stated that there are just too many clothes and options out there. She says “what new looks are really possible? Silver futuristic jumpsuits aren’t that practical. We only have two legs and two arms. Our shapes are our shapes. Maybe there’s only so much you can do with them!” Read more from the article here.
Ebay Develops World’s First Virtual Reality Department Store with Myer
Today, millennials are not just looking to buy, but to have an experience. That’s where digital and physical are coming together to bring fashion everywhere and ensure the customer has a seamless, integrated shopping experience.
Image courtesy of eBay press release
Consumers expect to get what they need, when they want it whether through online or offline shopping. In order to connect these two realms, eBay and Australia’s largest marketplace and iconic Australian retailer, Myer, have joined forces to launch the world’s first Virtual Reality (VR) Department Store. Shoppers will be able to search for more than 12,500 Myer items and add them to their carts via eBay Sight Search.
“EBay has always been in the business of predicting the future of retail, and most importantly creating it,” said Steve Brennen, eBay’s chief marketing officer and senior director of retail innovation. “With the world’s first virtual reality department store, we have challenged ourselves to build an exciting and engaging experience that makes browsing and selecting products easier than ever before.”
To learn more, read the full press release here.
Dana Soffer
