London Fashion Week is many things: a bloggers' pilgrimage, a hierarchical street style fest and the one international editors have traditionally skipped. But could it also be the twice yearly home of new, stylish wearable tech?
Well, London has tough competition from New York which saw fashion names like Zac Posen and Rebecca Minkoff getting into wearables last week. Designers based in London have dipped toes into the world of wearable tech before and the SS16 collections are no exception - apart from a few collaborations, it's business as usual.
LFW officially concludes on 22 September but expect more launches and projects to coincide with the event over the next few days - we will continue to update this feature throughout the week.
Ada + Nik's 'camera-enabled' biker jacket
Ada Zanditon and Nik Thakkar's label revealed its SS16 collection in New York last week but the pair saved their mens lifelogging jacket for a LFW launch.
The £800 jacket, a collaboration with will.i.am's Ekocycle and made from by-product calf leather, looks to simply have a black Narrative camera attached to the pocket. Ada + Nik have dabbled in wearable tech before, sending models down the catwalk wearing Moto 360 smartwatches at their Noir Desir mens show as well as creating a watch face for the round device.
Thakkar told The Telegraph that they would ultimately like to integrate a lifelogging camera with continuous livestreaming to the Ada + Nik outerwear collection. Currently the camera takes a still every 15 to 30 seconds. He said that wearables are a "key growth area" for the brand. The jacket will go on sale in Harrods at the end of September.
Henry Holland's NFC payment rings
The highest profile LFW wearable tech collaboration this season has been House of Holland and Visa Europe Collab's wearable tech payments demo.
NFC rings connected to smart brooches pinned to models who had just walked the show and Alexa Chung and Daisy Lowe both paid for items using Henry Holland's fun smart jewellery. The pieces from the shoppable catwalk were then immediately available to take away backstage.
Read more: The inside story of House of Holland's shoppable catwalk
It's just a proof of concept for now but Visa is already working to miniaturise the NFC receiver and Holland says he thinks his customers would be interested in this kind of payment experience in stores.
@chungalexa #houseofholland #HOHSS16 #LFW #VeCollabCatwalk
A photo posted by house_of_holland (@house_of_holland) on
Intel's new partnership with the BFC
Wareable
Intel is *everywhere* in wearable tech and that extends to fashion - after a NYFW smart sports bra and architectural dress powered by its Curie module, it has announced a new partnership with the British Fashion Council at LFW.
Officially Intel is now a patron of the BFC and its new role was announced at a LFW dinner for designers and industry insiders.
"We expect our relationship with the British Fashion Council and greater British fashion industry to significantly scale the convergence of technology and fashion," said Intel's VP of New Devices, Ayse Ildeniz who accessorised her LFW look with a black snakeskin Opening Ceremony MICA smart bracelet.
Intel's release makes clear that this is no conceptual partnership: "The role and goal will see Intel work alongside, and connect, renowned British fashion designers and retailers to weave the latest smart products into garments, designs, accessories and retail environments."
The Unseen's Craft and Creativity class
Lauren Bowker's studio didn't debut any new mind-reading fashion headgear at London Fashion Week but she did take part in the BFC's Craft and Creativity in the Digital World masterclass at the Condé Nast College.
Bowker was joined by stylist and accessories designer Judy Blame and Zowie Broach, head of fashion at the RCA, amongst others to chat about the importance of tactile experiences.
Don't miss the #LFW Talk Series 'Craft & Creativity' at 12.30pm today at Conde Nast College - open to all!
— London Fashion Week (@LondonFashionWk) September 20, 2015
Lyle & Scott's bPay contactless jacket
Launched just before LFW kicked off and no doubt with 'fashion month' in mind, Lyle & Scott's bPay contactless payment jacket is now on sale in the heritage brand's Carnaby Street store.
The double-faced, hooded jacket is available in black or blue and costs £150 and unlike House of Holland's concept, the bPay chip embedded into the sleeve inside means it can be used to pay for anything you like no matter the store.
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