Throwback to November 18th - a biting cold morning in NYC - marked the opening day of what would be the two day extravaganza that was Decoded Fashion’s New York summit. Hosted once again by Founder, Liz Bacelar - we saw an edited yet eclectic mix on both the fashion and the tech worlds. With companies such as Westfield, Macy’s Saks and Barney’s and brands such as Tibi, 3.1 Philip Lim, DVF and Decoded veteran, Rebecca Minkoff; the panels, discussions and general conversations over the two days failed to disappoint even the most hyper critical of crowds.
(Seen here L to R are Elizabeth Holmes, senior style reporter and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Rebecca Minkoff and CEO/brother Uri Minkoff.)It was the first time that CloudTags had been selected to exhibit amongst some of the coolest and most relevant tech in the industry. Many amazing discussions were had, but one of hot topics was wearable technology. There was much discussion about the future of wearables and even sales associates wearing wearables in the future to aid in their customers experience and ultimately create a synchronous flow from online to offline and vice versa. Kairos was one of the wonder-boys of the day showing off their new baby: a watch band that can turn any watch into a wearable making the versatility astounding.
There was even a competition for most unique and influential wearables in which Cuff Wearables, a wearable that is mostly safety oriented for college students, or the girl on the go, and with the touch of a button on the accessory, it alerts the wearer’s friends or family of her location and that she needs help. Most importantly, Cuff Wearables also were heavily concerned with design, making their jewelry asthetically pleasing and also seamless when layered up with other jewelry instead of a clunky piece of metal that acts like jewelry. They have also now introduced a necklace that pulses when the wearer receives notifications, such as emails or phone calls.
The one sentence that was on everyone’s lips was that wearables need to first and foremost be fashionable, but also extremely efficient and so far the fashion world is not impressed with most wearables already on the scene. “Fashion will embrace tech when it becomes interesting enough” agreed Lawrence Lenihan, Lisa Verde, Simon Collins and Fran Heuser. The future of not only wearables, but also fashion in technology is so crucial to Cloud Tags and we look forward to next year’s summit.
