Next week a fashion show with catwalk dedicated entirely to fashion tech will happen in London. The September 3 event is called Interlaced and will serve not only as a opportunity for designers to show off their work, but also as a touch point for the industry to discuss their path forward and to speak with potential customers. With so much cutting edge work in wearables and fashion technology being done by small companies funded by incubators, small VCs, and crowdsourcing, their work often flies under the radar. Interlaced is designed to bring these companies to the forefront. Participants in the event will represent 3D printing in fashion, wearable technology, sustainable fashion through technology, and funding.
The organizers want to unite innovators in fashion tech and prove that wearable-technology is not a dirty word in the industry. Early products created negative connotations of technology being used without justification; as a result designers are finding the need to omit the word “wearable” when dealing with smart clothing. To that end, Interlaced will include discussion sessions. Amongst the topics being discussed are whether ‘wearables’ needs to be rebranded, retail strategies, and how to find a mainstream audience. The organizers also view Interlaced as an opportunity to start a dialogue with end-users to understand what they are looking for and inform them of where the next wave of fashion is headed. Tickets are still available for £99.
While it is great to see a standalone fashion show showcasing fashion technology, it is too bad that such an event cannot take place later in month, during London’s Fashion Week. There are isolated events and conferences dedicated to wearable technology and fashion tech, but I think to start making real inroads, things like Interlaced need to be timed with major fashion events.
