At some point, the two roads that are wearable tech and high fashion were bound to meet at a sleekly designed fashion forward crossroads. Why it hasn’t happened sooner is anyone guess. But a hub for design labs, workshops, and fashion labels has bridged the gap between science and la mode. Manufacture NY imagines itself as this very crossroads, having curated a promising and ever growing group of designers and engineers who endeavor to change the look and feel of fashion.
Though based in Brooklyn, Manufacture NY has wide-reaching tentacles, with partnerships that stretch the continental US. As a “fashion design and production incubator” for indie designers, the group has taken a closer and more scrutinizing look at the way in which we render clothing. Sure there are any number of variations on wearable tech sportswear that monitors your heart rate, progress, and miles logged. But none of these incarnations have edged beyond merely their functionality, taking on couture aesthetic to boot.
This is where Manufacture NY sees itself as a different ballgame altogether. Sure there will be wearable tech that answers questions of how to live better with functional clothing. But that very same functional wearable tech now will take on the semblance of high fashion. Take for instance the smart shoes, or smart stilettos for that matter, that are being dreamed up by Los Angeles startup Thesis Couture. In the past, women would ignore the discomfort and feel of the stiletto, sacrificing their feet in the name of fashion.
Today however, Thesis Couture, having assembled a team of greats that includes the former head of talent at Space X, a rocket scientist, and an orthopedic surgeon; has imagined a better stiletto. The shoe employs a ballistic-grade plastic and thermoplastic polyurethane to improve on the heel that has dogged women’s feet for so long. Thesis Couture CEO Dolly Singh isn’t necessarily reinventing the wheel. But Singh sees this as a pivot in the direction of smart high fashion. To lend credibility to the heel, not only has Thesis Couture enlisted the aid of scientists and engineers. A shoe designer and an Italian craftsman also fill out the ranks.
“The modern day stiletto was actually invented before landed a man on the moon. So it’s been more than 65 years.” Singh says at an unveiling of the shoe lookbook. “To me, when you’re surrounded by some of the smartest people on the planet, building some of the biggest and most badass machines in this world, the idea that my shoes are such crap became really obnoxiously unbearable.”
Manufacture NY for its part according to founder Bob Bland back in 2012 “would give a home to designers to streamline their production costs and designs.” Imagine a centrally located hub where groups like Thesis Couture can begin to flesh out their ideas and benefit from the mentoring, sponsorship or simple moral support of a group of proven industry leaders. Manufacture is now in the planning stages of a R&D Tech Center that will feature a Digital and Advanced Fabrication Lab, a Soft Circuits and Wearable Electronics Lab, and a Biology and Chemistry Wet Lab.
High tech high fashion may have dragged its high heels finally making its way into the light of day. But wearable tech struts for the win, even if fashionably late.
