Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine December Issue 2018 | Page 75

WORLD WRAP
Conceived as a denim jacket that
lets the user control a phone
through the use of gestures alone
– the jacket connected through
Google’s conductive Jacquard
Thread, which is woven into the
sleeve, and the Jacquard snap tag,
which syncs to a smartphone via
Bluetooth. The jacket was sold at a
price of US $ 350 and was designed
for a bike commuter who could use
gestures to control the phone while
biking, instead of pulling it out of
the pocket every time.
Moving beyond aesthetics in design,
these smart clothes are also made
of fabrics and fibres which can
regulate body temperature, and
can even release medications into
the skin. American brand, Under
Armour sells ‘athletic recovery
sleepwear’ which are pajamas that
beam infrared radiation onto the
wearer’s body to boost recovery.
In early 2018, DuPont Advanced
Materials (DuPont) launched
DuPont™ Intexar™ – a powered
smart clothing technology for
on-body heating. The company
describes Intexar™ Heat as a thin
lightweight and durable heating
solution for outdoor clothing that
is designed to be easily integrated
into garments and when powered
creates comfortable warmth. The
technology can further enable
biometric monitoring in smart
clothing as well such as monitoring
pulse rate, respiratory rate, muscle
activity and forming awareness.
“Our team has worked hard to
develop a heater that feels like
fabric, doesn’t rely on cables, thick
wires or big batteries, and can stand
up to very cold environment. From
outdoor enthusiasts to industrial
workers, Intexar™ Heat can help
conquer the elements in comfort,
increasing focus and improving
performance,”said Michael Burrows,
Global Business Manager, DuPont
Advanced Materials.
The medical smart fabric market
is also set to experience an
astonishing growth by the end of
the forecast period of 2018-2027,
according to Market Research
Future (MRFR).
Companies like Clothing+ produce
medical applications such as
heart, brain and lungs monitoring
solutions in e-textiles along
with other popular products
like smart blankets. Other fabric
companies such as Camira fabric
and Hexoskin provide smart fabrics
to different hospitals, nursing
homes and assisted living. Hexoskin
fabrics are embedded with cardiac,
movement and breathing sensors for
tracking the patient’s data as per
the health segment. 
Pireta creates smart fabrics
which are customised as per
the selection of garments for
continuous physiological monitoring
and emergency care. Various other
start-ups are getting into smart
pediatric wear to monitor the ECG
and heart rate of infants, and
postures of expecting mothers.
Other innovators in the industry are
companies like Edema ApS, which
has developed a washable stocking
that monitors and measures changes
in leg volume for patients suffering
from edema (fluid accumulation
or swelling) of the lower limbs.
According to the company, the
material of the stocking is especially
designed as a compression stocking
that instantly measures all changes
of leg expansion. The measurements
are then sent to a mobile phone that
shows the actual changes of swelling
in the legs. This information is then
automatically sent to clinicians at
the hospital for observation. 
Paving way for a highly collaborative
industry in which more and more
technology providers will be
partnering with apparel companies
– even designers are now stepping
into the market with wearable-tech
innovations. Designer Julianna
Bass recently collaborated with
New York-based company Loomia,
to develop a colour-changing textile
used in two of her dresses in Spring/
Summer ’18 collection showcased
during the New York fashion week.
Loomia is known to make flexible
circuitry that can emit heat and/
or light, as well as sense and track
data. But more than that, the
company has also created e-textiles
that are machine washable.
With so much happening in the
wearable technology, it will not be
long before mainstream retailers
also start offering garments with
more than just performance finishes.
What was in fact a mere concept
only a few years ago, is now already
on the ramps and in stores.
Sears announces
another closure plan:
40 stores including
11 Kmart outlets to
be shuttered
Sears Holdings Corporation has announced to close 29 Sears
stores and 11 Kmart outlets by February next year. It is
important to add here that the retailer filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection in October and announced the shuttering
of 142 of its stores along with closure of 40 stores in a bid to
move swiftly during the bankruptcy process.
Notably, Sears used to be America’s leading retailer before
Walmart and Amazon took over the market in the country and
due to limited funding that affected its stores’ revamping, this
resulted in the retailer lagging behind its competitors.
Reportedly, the retailer has said that the closures are happening
to reduce the cost and to avoid a possible collapse, as it aims
to rebuild itself. According to Reuters, Sears is suffering from
bankruptcy as it failed to pay debt worth US $ 134 million and
the retailer’s overall debt amount crosses US $ 5.6 billion mark.
Furthermore, the retailer has also marked that out of its
1,000 outlets, around 400 yield profits and other stores are
under-performing making it tough for the retailer to survive
in the market.
MatchesFashion
appoints former
Chanel CEO as board
member
London-based global luxury retailer MatchesFashion has
appointed Chanel’s former Chief Executive Maureen Chiquet
to its board as a Non-Executive Director. Chiquet has more
than 30 years of experience in the retail sector.
Chiquet had joined Chanel in 2003 as the Chief Operating
Officer and President of US operations and became Global
Chief Executive in 2007. Throughout her nine-year tenure
with the French fashion house, she maintained brand
exclusivity and navigated the social media landscape.
In 2015, after Chanel reported a 38 per cent rise in profit,
Chiquet helped harmonise its international prices and
announced its first foray into e-commerce.
Along with Chiquet, MatchesFashion is also hiring
Trevor Mather, Chief Executive of Auto Trader as a
Non-Executive Director.
www.apparelresources.com | December 2018 | Apparel Online Bangladesh
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