Will Your T-Shirts Ring One Day?

Tuesday 04th of November 2008 03:07:33 AM

Will Your T-Shirts Ring One Day?

There is simply not much that escapes electronics anymore. In fact, technology is so pervasive that it has even hit the fashion world. Clothes have been designed to carry electronics such as cell phones and iPhones, but now a company called CuteCircuit is designing fashion with electronics built into the clothing design and construction.

In the past, when you talked about clothing functionality it was along the lines of choosing the right style for the event. Now clothing functionality has hit a new platform. The UK company CuteCircuit has made the M-Dress which has a SIM card in it for cell calls. When the dress rings, you simply raise your hand as high as your head to answer the call.

Called “wearable technology”, it is not new to the sports clothing industry. Fitness clothing has been making sports shoes with built-in pedometers for a while. What makes the M-Dress different is the fact it is everyday wear and not specialized clothing.

The Director of Smart Clothes and Wearable Technology at the University of Wales, Jane McCann, said, “A garment might have devices on it to help you find your way somewhere, or to tell you how fit you are. It could tell you where someone is to help you meet them, or tell you what’s on at the museum or club.” Fashion designers have embraced the kind of technology which enables them to produce unusual clothing such as shape-changing garments or fabrics that change colours.

But the designers have not included much practical technology in their fashion clothing. That is about to change it seems. So you may find that one day your skirts, sweatshirts or t-shirts, for example, serve an electronic function as much as they are intended to cover the body. McCann said, “Wearable technology is coming through into useful everyday clothing more than it is on the catwalk.”

(c ) Image by www.saskatoonphotography.co.nr on www.sxc.hu/