My first reaction to the Chromat SS16 MOMENTUM show at NYFW this season was something along the lines of wordless internal screaming and the word COOL running through my head over and over. When the lights went down and Alek Wek appeared in a silhouetted haze of LED lights with a ball of blue light on her chest like some kind of avant-garde Iron Man, I knew that this collection was going to be something special.
Chromat founder and designer Becca McCharen originally trained in architecture and urban design, and her brand reflects that in its approach to fashion – Chromat’s tagline is “structural experiments for the human body”. McCharen has historically explored a single concept in great depth in each of her collections (for example, Chromat’s SS15 collection Formula 15 examined the idea of clothing as a machine that observes and empowers bodies), and MOMENTUM was no different in its exploration of responsive and adaptive sportswear to allow the body to perform at maximum levels through wearable technology and 3D printing. The collection was a collaboration between Chromat and Intel – yeah, the company that probably designed your computer processor. That seems like a strange company to find involved in New York Fashion Week, of all events, but Intel was a big contributor to Chromat’s use of wearable technology in the SS16 collection.
Wearable technology isn’t really new – technically, a pocket watch is wearable technology – and many brands, luxury and otherwise, have used 3D printing techniques in their clothing and especially in their accessories. Even wearable technology that reads the human body has been done before (FitBit, anyone?).
What’s new and innovative in Chromat’s SS16 collection is integration of technology into fashion, into art, into science, and into daily life. Alek Wek’s sports bra in the show opener ventilates itself by reading the heat coming off of your body, keeping you cool while you exercise. Frankly, I’d wear that in a second!
The pièce de résistance of the collection, though, was definitely the final look – a little black dress with a major twist. This spiny geometric dress, called the Adrenaline Dress, is made of a carbon fibre 3D printed skeleton and – this is literally the coolest thing I have ever seen – READS THE ADRENALINE LEVELS OF THE WEARER. Like, seriously – that is some amazing stuff!
The dress reads sweat levels and the heartrate of the wearer, and those neat looking carbon fibre wings on the back expand as adrenaline levels rise. Just imagine how useful this kind of technology could be – no more uncomfortable personal space issues literally anywhere!
Chromat SS16 is the height of cool techno geekery, and frankly the clothes just look great. This collection does pose some wider questions though – what is the future of wearable technology? Ten years from now, are we all going to be wearing carbon fiber suits of armor that respond to every change in our body chemistry? Or is this just an experiment to be filed away in museums?
Cost is a big factor limiting further exploration of the wearable technology concept. I mean, the Adrenaline Dress costs over $18,000 USD. But if history shows anything, technology only decreases in price as time goes on.
What do you think? Would you wear The Adrenaline Dress – or more realistically that self-ventilating sports bra? Let us know!
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