The Rise of Tech-couture

Designers and participants of the ’geek-chic’ trend have been rocking their long socks, baggy cardigans and oversized glasses for many a season. However, as is only to be expected with the inevitable advancement of technology, the trend has been getting steadily geekier and now ‘geek-chic’ seems to have evolved into a new trend altogether: to coin a phrase, this ‘tech-couture’ trend embraces nerdy gadgetry on a whole new level.

Tech-couture made its breakthrough with artists and fashionistas taking to the spotlight in designs featuring wearable technology and interactive fashion, with Lady Gaga debuting Haus of Gaga’s own mechanical ‘Living Firefly’ dress on the Jonathon Ross show in 2010 and Katy Perry taking to the red carpet this year at the Met Ball in a Cutecircuit design of flowing silk chiffon and over 3000 LED’s.

Now the trend is grabbing people’s attention in every-which-way possible, and seemingly impossible. Anouk Wipprecht, a Dutch fashion designer and a key mover in the trend, created one of her major pieces in collaboration with a computer hacker and a sculptor.  'The DareDroid' is a biomechanical cocktail-making dress using medical technology, customised hardware and human temperament to provide freshly made cocktails. Whilst you will never find the dress hanging on a shop rail, it’s still a brilliant piece of design and innovation.

Whilst these big designer’s works are more likely to be featured in museums and exhibitions than shop windows, there are a number of items with which to compromise. If you can’t get find affordable ‘tech-couture’, you should be more than satisfied with ‘tech-street’. The Flash T-Qualiser T-Shirt takes nerdy technology to the extreme at £18.99: the t-shirt processes surrounding music and converts it into an interactive equalizer bar just like those on home-stereos. An equally easy way to get techno-street is with these £1.75 glow in the dark shoelaces or get more 'ravey’ with UV Face and Body Paint at the affordable price of £1.99 and available in 8 different colours, including a super-cool silver.

Technology is also changing the way we aquire our clothes. With a finger up to capitalism, London based CovertCandy claims to be the UK's first socially interactive free online trading platform where users can trade in unwanted second-hand goods for CovertCandy credits.

So join the revolution and embrace innovative fashion!

By Greta Hedley-Miller