WEARABLE AESTHETICS

Text&Translation by Bian Jiajin Photos by CFP

WEARABLE AESTHETICS

Text&Translation by Bian Jiajin Photos by CFP

可穿戴的科學美

可穿戴科技，近兩年在整個設計領域掀起了一陣風潮。正如Steve Jobs堅信的，那是高科技與審美價值的交匯點。

當可穿戴科技遇上時尚設計，將會產生什么樣的化學效應？

For the past two years, the whole design field has been largely influenced by the craze of wearable technology. Following Steve Jobs' faith, future product design should be the intersection of science and aesthetics. Yet when wearable tech meets fashion, will there be a new “big bang”? Wearable Tech.

For the fashion industry, the cooperation of iWatch and Hermes in 2015 was so phenomenal that it pointed the way for the development of fashion designing.

As our life has been gradually digitalised with smart technology, the traditional industry, in order to improve costumers' life quality and product experience, needs the assistance of science. Even luxury giants like Hermes want to be among this scientifi c wave. Confronted with the release of iWatch，luxury watch brands are the most anxious ones who want to make a response. And now, Tag Heuer of LVMH and Montblanc have already had their own blueprints drawn up in this new domain. Precision manufacturers have to think abouttechnical transformation in this context.

Many fashion ateliers take a wait-and-see attitude, while some brands have already dipped their toes, even if without a full dive into the deep end. Earlier Ralph Lauren upgraded its classic handbag Ricky, and equipped it with a rechargeable battery and LED lights. But, a handbag with the price tag of 30,000 RMB, not so many ladies can afford hightech fashion. Ralph Lauren eventually limited the sales and made it as a pre-order product. Another similar situation belongs to the over-accessorised headphones of Dolce&Gabbana. This design is not only a high-key fashion accessory, but also about the quality of music. This time, the Italian luxury brand installed its Sicilian lady spirit and fl oral elements into headphone designing. As a result, the price of this musical product appeals only to the higher-classes.

If these above mentioned designs seem too extravagant, how about other smaller designs? Designer brands like Tory Burch and Rebecca Minkoff have both released digital bracelets. This design can easily insert wearable technology into fashion. What's more essential is that the cost for tech-bracelets sounds reasonable, and this is a great chance for such emerging designer brands. On the other hand, these brands are mainly targeted to the American market, so compared to other cultures, small wearable technology is easier to market.

Maybe it is sportswear companies that are always in the frontier of wearable technology. People can see this trend from Nike smart wear, fi rst generation Adidas 3dprint tech shoes Futurecraft, to recent Under Armour's ambitions for digital hardware. Of course, the cosmetic industry needs technology to make itself more convincing and attractive too, so it keeps exploring new grounds in both science and fashion.

Though digitalisation now has been an irreversible tendency, product developers like Steve Jobs, who had enthusiasm for technology, aesthetics and capability are too rare. If there must be a compromise between science and aesthetics, then what's the point of fusing them together? Probably, in the future we'll want such kinds of product engineers, who would see the perfection of technology as the harmony of engineering, and simultaneously could use aesthetics as the universal grammar of design.

對于時尚界來說，2015年iWatch和Hermes的合作或許是具有里程碑意義的，它指明了時尚設計的未來發展方向。

隨著人們生活的日益智能化，傳統的時尚工業也需要借助科技，特別是可以很大程度提升人們的生活質量和產品體驗的可穿戴科技，也難怪連最傳統的皮具巨頭Hermes也企求從中分一杯羹。而面對iWatch的誕生，最需要回應的就是奢侈品手表工坊，LVHM旗下的Tag Heuer以及Montblanc等如今都已經有了開發智能領域的藍圖。在高科技背景下，一貫以精密取勝的名表業也需要考慮技術上的轉型。

很多老牌時尚工坊仍在觀望階段，很多品牌雖然躍躍欲試，但也只能淺嘗輒止。早先Ralph Lauren就將其經典款式手袋Ricky，發展成為一種可充電并帶有LED的手包，在保持Ricky經典造型的同時，為它升級。不過，面對3萬多人民幣的售價，很多女性并不為高科技買賬，品牌方面只能隨后改變成預訂式的銷售方法。同樣境遇的還有Dolce&Gabbana打造的超級奢華裝飾耳機，既是高調的飾品，又是高質量的音樂配件。這一次，不僅把品牌熱衷的貴婦精神和西西里的浪漫花卉“安裝”到耳機上，就連價格也是超級貴婦級別。

這樣的“大件”行不通，但可穿戴小商品似乎是另一番景象。像Tory Burch、 Rebecca Minkoff等輕奢侈品牌都在不久前推出手環。它不僅可以將可穿戴科技輕松地融入時尚設計，而且成本上來說也不高昂，對于這些非頂級品牌來說的確是一個機遇。另外，這些品牌主要面向對于科技比較崇拜的美國市場，相比歐亞，這一切推行起來都要方便許多。

走在可穿戴科技前沿的或許永遠都是運動品牌，NIKE的智能運動服、還未成熟的Adidas 3D打印技術跑鞋Futurecraft系列，以及近來宣布一心要發展智能硬件的Under Armour。當然，還有需要用科技為自身增強信服的美容產業，也永遠都在科技和時尚方面做新的探索。

盡管如今智能化的時尚設計已經成了不可扭轉的趨勢，但是真正能夠像Steve Jobs那樣對于科技和美學甚至是普遍實用性都同樣執著的產品研發者并不多。科技和美學若終究有一方需要妥協，那么科技與設計融合的意義又在哪里呢？

或許，未來我們更需要這樣的產品工程師：其能將科技的完美過程視為工程學的和諧美學，又能將傳統美學價值作為普世通用的設計語法。