We love Ted Talks, especially when they’re about wearables and the future of fashion and technology. Here are a few of our favourites right now:
The first talk is on fashion – from frivolity to sustainability. Rachel Arthur is an award-winning business journalist and speaker specialising in fashion and technology. She talks about the perception of fashion, as well as innovation and sustainability within the industry.
With a references to the self-lacing shoes in Back to the Future to the most sought-after smart-closet in Clueless, she shoes where we are now, and where we need to go next.
Favourite quote: “A company that makes bras sentman to the moon.”
Next up is a talk about the future of technology and retail. Taylor Romero is the Head of Company at Spruce Labs, Inc. He and his wife Becca combined a menswear boutique with a barbershop to empower men to feel great and look great from head to toe. They’re pushing the boundaries of technology within retail, and Taylor gives us a comical yet informative look into how technology and the Internet of Things are changing the future of connectivity.
Favourite quote: “Everything invented before you were born = just how it’s always been. Everything invented before you’re 30 = innovation. Everything invented after you turn 30 = ?. This is science, you can google it.”
Danit Peleg is a leading 3D-printing fashion designer, and we just love her point of view in this video. On the TED stage, she talks about a future where we will download and print our own clothes at home – just as she did herself out of necessity the night before an important event. Get a close look at her world of knitting machines and laser cutters.
Favourite quote: “Music was once a very physical thing: you would have to go to the record shop and buy CDs, but now you can just download digital music directly to your phone. Fashion is also a very physical thing, and I wonder how our world will look when our clothes will be digital, too”
Helen Koo is a fashion designer, researcher, and educator, who is working on wearables within healthcare and improving quality of life for people with chronic illnesses. She gives an inspirational speech on her projects working on apparel for people with diabetes and autism.
Favourite quote: “We wear garments from we’re born until we die – unless you’re a nudist.”
Amanda Parkes is the Chief Innovation Officer at Fashion Tech Lab. In this video, she shares her experience in the evolution of fashion technology. In her words, going from “looking like a computer threw up on your jacket” towards something much more wearable. Hear her views on the rapid change the fashion industry is facing—from transformations in materiality to overhauls in the mentality when it comes to how we approach production.
Favourite quote: “Biology is the next hardware revolution, and this is defining our century in the way that things like physics defined last century.”
Second favourite quote (because we love Amanda Parkes):
“Your style is your visual interface to the world.”
Last but not least we meet Rami Banna, the engineer, product champion, and technology evangelist, who introduces the subcategory of wearables: implantables. This touching talk will take you into the world of hearing aids, and how wearables can change peoples lives. Meet the children that are living proof and never again will you think of wearables as just gadgets.
With that said, we have one last favourite quote for you: “If we could just work out how to get the activity tracker to do the exercise for you, we’d be in a much better place.”
Title image via Mc Jefferson Agloro
