Wearable Tech Walks The Runway In 3D Printed Heels

Wearable technology invaded New York City at designer Asher Levine’s February 19 show, Tech In Motion’s Wearable Technology Fashion Show. Levine, known for his menswear designs, also has a true taste for wearable tech. In the past he has collaborated with MakerBot to introduce the world’s first 3-D printed sunglasses.

Here, the term “wearable tech” extends beyond just the fitness tracker you wear on your wrist. In Levine’s fashion show, tech was integrated and sewn into apparel in brilliantly colorful and imaginative ways. 3D printed work, LED clothing, Google Glass, and more were featured alongside pieces from Levine’s 2014 line.

This mix of apparel and tech represented the innovative soul of fashion— a look into future possibilities of where style, clothing, and accessories might take us in the years ahead. And like Levine’s show, the future of fashion is truly tricked out with tech.

This knockout pair of onyx kicks are from the creative minds at ContinuumFashion, a Manhattan-based group that specializes in unique 3D printed shoes that are “not just for the runway.” Projects in queue for the fashion-meets-printing company include 3D printed bikinis and dresses.

New York City’s TheLaserGirls has taken the current and obsessive trend of nail art and translated it into the world of 3D printing. These nails, pictured above in a royal blue nylon, have a stylized pattern that protrude from the nail in true 3D fashion. Painted nails enthusiasts, listen up—with 3D printing, now every nail art look can grace a hand.

San Francisco-based company Sensoree works to achieve “extimacy” through its brightly-lit apparel, a portmanteau for “externalized intimacy.” Sensoree blends apparel with a dash of human emotion, mixing in a splash of installation art for good measure. The group uses sensors to read the wearer’s excitement levels, and connects these sensors to display LED lighting in an array of bright colors for the ultimate mood halo.

Asher Levine’s Grenade Bag is outfitted with TrackR, a Bluetooth device that syncs up with your iPhone or Android app to monitor the bag’s location. The bag, which comes in a black or yellow design, is made of a “neoprene compound.”

Image courtesy of ContiuumFashion. Reporting by Lauren Orsini for ReadWrite