Can Wearable Tech Really Be Stylish?

WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY is one of those space-age-sounding concepts that in the Eighties we may have imagined we'd be donning by 2020, but it isn't something generally thought of as stylish - until now.New York label Opening Ceremony has become the first big-name fashion brand to team up with a technology giant - in this case Intel - to create a piece of wearable tech with a cooler edge.

From Google's much lauded (and vilified) Glass - featuring a camera and screen worn on the face - which is set to be released this year, to T-shirts and bras that track your heartbeat and weight gain respectively, our clothes have been incredibly busy doing things that they really don't need to of late.Currently the preserve of sporty types keen to make the most of every step they take - and monitor their vital statistics while doing so - wearable technology is set to hit the mainstream this year, and fashion brands are bound to want to make them more aesthetically pleasing.

In September 2012, Diane von Furstenberg collaborated with Google to send some of her models on to the spring/summer 2013 catwalk wearing Google Glasses, but this new release will be fashion's first specially designed product.Although it has not yet been confirmed what the piece will look like, or what it will do for your life, the "smart bracelet" will be released at Barneys, WWD reports, in collaboration with the CFDA (of which Von Furstenberg is chair) and designed by Opening Ceremony.

"The first big story [from the Consumer Electronics Show 2014] is the real inflection point for wearable devices," Accenture's John Curran told the Financial Times."It is about these devices moving from niche applications and early adopters into much more mainstream products."