Ubercool

E-Wear & Smart Fabrics

June 28th, 2008

As the Digital Lifestyle engulfs society, the convergence between fashion and technology will accelerate. The e-wear and smart fabrics market is estimated at $400 million today and is projected to reach $700 million by 2010, according to Venture Development Corp.

But Venture Development hastily adds that the market is “fragmented, unprofitable…and may reach $700 million in break-even or marginally profitable revenue by 2010.” That sounds like a terrible assessment of a potentially lucrative market as this analysis shows.

Smart fabrics refer to textiles that use technology to create trendsetting benefits, like no-iron shirts, the ability to deflect knives, or anti-bacterial and deodorizing apparel. Products like this have already been introduced by TAG Apparel (Hong Kong), Nihon Uni (Japan) and Mizuno (Japan), respectively.

E-wear pushes the technology envelope one step further by integrating electrification, GPS, human interfaces or media into textiles. These “electro textiles” rely on fabrics with electronic media woven in, so current passes through the fabric instead of through wires.

Few consumers understand the benefits of e-wear. One reason is that most manufacturers in this segment do not have high consumer awareness. The major players that did launch e-wear entries merely experimented, providing products with little marketing support. GAP, for one, apparently cancelled its product line before it even arrived in stores.

GAPKids introduced the Hoodio, developed with San Francisco’s Wild Planet, in 2004. Priced at just $68, it featured cable channels and speakers in its hood. The Spyder Limited Edition iPod Ski Jacket (right; $2,200) promised a built-in iPod and integrated sleeve touch pad.

Levi’s only marketed its “anti-radiation” Dockers in the U.K. – trousers that featured a mobile-phone pocket lined with a radiation-reducing material called MDF. The MDF pocket promised to protect the wearer from potentially harmful cellular-phone radiation.

Mobile electronics have triggered a flood in demand for clothing and accessories compatible with popular digital devices. The reason is obvious: on-the-go professionals carry as much as 10 pounds (5kg) of tech tools, most added during the past 20 years.

As more people tote notebook computers, PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras and maybe an iPod or GPS device, expandable, soft bags have all but erased sales of leather attaché cases, once the mainstay of business executives.

While the iPod accessories market is estimated in excess of $1 billion, marketers of all stripes are jumping on the digital lifestyle accessories bandwagon, as exemplified by this Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons Sony PSP case ($35,000), a pure gold case encrusted with seven carats of diamonds.

The trend has spread to women’s handbags, which have markedly grown in size. And many big, expandable bags are getting wheels so consumers can lug even more stuff. In May, the Travel Goods Association announced another record sales year, with U.S. consumers spending a record $22.2 billion in 2007 on luggage, backpacks, travel/sports bags, business cases, computer bags, handbags, personal leather goods and travel accessories, largely fueled by our growing digital arsenal.

But this activity is just a warm-up for the next generation of e-wear that will literally electrify you. So-called “textronics” will allow clothing to be made with enough conductivity to power mobile phones and MP3 players without nary a power brick in sight.

And if you’re worried about getting lost in the digital future, DuPont is producing textiles that can be detected by global positioning satellites, allowing Alzheimer’s sufferers, for example, to be tracked, or to provide the precise location of wilderness trekkers in an emergency.

In 2006, designer Isaac Daniel introduced a limited-edition GPS shoe, complete with built-in distress button. GPS shoes join Nike running shoes capable to transmit your jogging performance via Bluetooth to an Apple iPod player for realtime exercise feedback.

The popularity of blue jeans and t-shirts as a global fashion uniform clearly says that consumers want easy-to-wear-and-care-for clothing. The $200 billion U.S. apparel industry has changed markedly over the past 50 years, but the market is virtually stalled with anemic annual growth. Once apparel makers discover this magnetic growth engine, e-wear and smart fabrics will electrify their business.

Ubertrends: Digital Lifestyle
Value Propellants: Convergence, Convenience, Time-saving

E-wear Gallery
This gallery will be updated as more e-wear examples register on our radar screen.

Two current examples of the smart fabrics and e-wear trends are Naum’s “anti-bacterial and sun protective” blouse and Bogner’s prototype solar-powered ski jacket (right), which uses thin-film solar panels and LED lights developed by OSRAM.

Burton offers a whole line of Audex winter jackets, including the Audex Bluetooth Download Jacket ($630) with a Bluetooth network designed by Motorola, which features the usual sleeve-mounted control panel to enable browsing music and taking calls on your Motorola phone.

This X-ray rendering shows the interior “personal area network” and multiple gear storage areas offered a typical SCOTTeVEST SeV Evolution Jacket ($150).

This the perfect tux for any spring breaker. The Ted Baker Party Animal Tuxedo ($650) retains its shape while resisting stains because it’s made of a wrinkle- and liquid-resistant wool coated with Teflon.

Entry Filed under: E-wear