What Will Fashion Look Like in the Future?

For many of us, fashion is one of the most important aspects of our lives. If looking good at every turn is important to you, you will undoubtedly have found yourself wondering what the future of fashion might look like. As technology continues to advance and transform numerous sectors and industries, the fashion industry seems to have been left remarkably unaffected.

In actual fact, there have been a number of exciting advances in the fashion world recently that give us a glimpse of what the future of the industry might look like. There aren’t many restrictions on the imaginations and capabilities of the best fashion designers in the world. Now, technology is helping to dissolve the last few remaining barriers.

Present to Future 

When you look at the quality of the most high-end contemporary fashion, it might seem like there isn’t really anywhere else to go. For example, a pair of quality Gucci sneakers, like these Gucci sneakers from SSENSE, offer an exquisite marriage of style, comfort, and practicality. If you look through the SSENSE website, you will find plenty of examples of the highest-quality fashion on the market today.

Science fiction films have offered us glimpses at a number of the different paths that fashion could take in the future. Common features of the futuristic clothes we see in Hollywood include interwoven lights and electronics, materials with adaptable properties, and clothes that can monitor our health. All of these once unthinkable technologies are now within our reach.

The future of fashion is undeniably exciting. Predicting the direction that cutting-edge technologies will head in over the proceeding decades is notoriously difficult, but by looking at existing patents and prototypes we can hazard a guess as to what ideas and innovations will play the biggest role in shaping fashion’s future.

Lights and Electronics

Incorporating electronics into clothing is nothing new. Most of us can think of at least a few examples of clothes that incorporate lights, speakers, and even screens. However, until now these clothes have generally been valued for their novelty rather than their quality. We are rapidly approaching a point where flexible components will make it possible to add electronics to clothes without creating unwanted areas of rigidity.

Following the unveiling of the first smartphones to feature foldable displays earlier this year, designers in multiple industries are busy working on ways to implement this exciting new technology. Clothes that incorporate a screen already exist, but the clothes of the future will be able to take advantage of screens that are as flexible as the surrounding fabric.

Diagnostics

A stable of science fiction films is some kind of suit that is able to inform the wearer of any changes to them or their environment. Such technology might seem like it is still way off in the future, but in fact, we are beginning to produce our first prototypes. Apple has already demonstrated that its Apple Watch can provide some basic diagnostic functions, such as measuring vital signs.

But a smartwatch is an expensive electronic device that isn’t as affordable as a t-shirt. Introducing diagnostic capabilities into our clothes could be one of the most significant public health milestones in history. For example, consider the New Radiation Bra, which is capable of detecting abnormalities in breast tissue that might indicate the presence of cancer.

At present, we depend upon people attending check-ups with their healthcare providers and taking up offers for preventative screenings in order to catch issues like cancer early. There are certain cancers that kill needlessly because people are too embarrassed to attend screenings. In women, it’s breast cancer and cervical cancer, in men it’s prostate cancer.

Intimate examinations are never fun, but in some cases, people’s embarrassment is killing them. Clothes that could perform these checks passively would be game-changing.

Blending Physical and Digital

Both virtual reality and augmented reality are now coming into their own. These technologies have been around for decades but have been limited by our technological capabilities. However, now that we can incorporate powerful processors into smaller devices, we can start to think about clothes that render designs on the fly.

While those kinds of designs might be some way away, we have an existing prototype that shows us how AR may one day be incorporated into fashion. ILMxLAB is the entertainment division of Lucasfilm and they have been conducting research into dynamic clothing whose design can be altered at will. Initially, these effects will be achieved using special glasses that are able to overlay designs over people’s clothing as we are looking at it.

It is exciting to think about all the possibilities that technology has opened up for the future of fashion. From clothes that save our lives to clothes that can be digitally enhanced on the go, we are really just beginning to scratch the surface of what might one day be possible.