Viral Style: Smartphone Skirts, Posture Enhancing Jewelry, And Drones On The Catwalk

LONDON FASHION WEEK HIGHLIGHTS

Fyodor Golan Nokia Chloe Norgaard

Nasir Mazhar

Up-and-coming East London designer Nasir Mazhar branched out with his first full runway show this season, complete with a collection that put a new twist on his signature tracksuits with shimmering metallic fabrics and luxe fur trim–and of course, that bold ‘90s-style branding on everything. Mazhar was a milliner before he got into the RTW game; a point he reminds us of through details like the functional caps with built-in pencil holders, or headwear that extends down into motocross-shaped face masks. 

CATWALK DRONE OF THE WEEK

We’re getting used to the idea of drones becoming more integrated with everyday life, whether they’re delivering sushi to your table or Amazon packages to your door–but big respect to Fendi, who have actually found a way to combine drone technology with the catwalk. Yesterday’s A/W14 show at Milan Fashion Week saw an airborne drone casing the venue, snapping high-def pictures and video that was shown on the event’s live feed. Karl, you’ve done it again. 

Combining fashion with function, a brand called Cuff have just dropped a brand new line of wearable tech accessories that come with built-in wireless capabilities. The nine-piece range includes necklaces and pendants (and even keychains for the bros), each crafted with its own waterproof CuffLinc device which links via Bluetooth to your phone using an accelerometer. The accompanying Cuff app can then be configured to send alerts to a chosen contact without the need for the user to use his/her phone–potentially great in an emergency. The “seamless security” deal is cool and all, but we’re more excited by the fact that Cuff plan to allow designers to licence the tech for their own accessories (hope you’re reading this, Christopher Kane). 

POSTURE-ENHANCING ACCESSORY OF THE WEEK

PosturAroma – Women’s Safety from MediaLAB Amsterdam.

After years of having your Mum moan at you to stand up straight, a new technology-enabled accessory has arrived to make you improve your damn posture once and for all. The joint project of Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences students Laura Mul, Akarsh Sanghi and Shinichiro Ito, PosturAroma is a piece of jewellery worn around the neck that monitors the wearer’s posture, and releases various scents depending how he/she needs to alter the way they’re standing–the idea being that fragrance acts as the emotional trigger to change behaviour patterns. 

 

POKEMON-INSPIRED DESIGNS OF THE WEEK

Gerlan Jeans dropped their new A/W14 collection this week – and man, is this one to get you hankering for your old Gameboy Color. Sweet Dreamz is themed around 25 new ‘Gerlemon’ characters, which bear more than a passing resemblance to Pokemon, and consists of a range of uber-cute print tracksuits and sporty separates. Just. Too. Cute.