WEARABLE AESTHETICS

Text&Translation by Bian Jiajin Photos by CFP

WEARABLE AESTHETICS

Text&Translation by Bian Jiajin Photos by CFP

可穿戴的科学美

可穿戴科技，近两年在整个设计领域掀起了一阵风潮。正如Steve Jobs坚信的，那是高科技与审美价值的交汇点。

当可穿戴科技遇上时尚设计，将会产生什么样的化学效应？

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.

对于时尚界来说，2015年iWatch和Hermes的合作或许是具有里程碑意义的，它指明了时尚设计的未来发展方向。

随着人们生活的日益智能化，传统的时尚工业也需要借助科技，特别是可以很大程度提升人们的生活质量和产品体验的可穿戴科技，也难怪连最传统的皮具巨头Hermes也企求从中分一杯羹。而面对iWatch的诞生，最需要回应的就是奢侈品手表工坊，LVHM旗下的Tag Heuer以及Montblanc等如今都已经有了开发智能领域的蓝图。在高科技背景下，一贯以精密取胜的名表业也需要考虑技术上的转型。

很多老牌时尚工坊仍在观望阶段，很多品牌虽然跃跃欲试，但也只能浅尝辄止。早先Ralph Lauren就将其经典款式手袋Ricky，发展成为一种可充电并带有LED的手包，在保持Ricky经典造型的同时，为它升级。不过，面对3万多人民币的售价，很多女性并不为高科技买账，品牌方面只能随后改变成预订式的销售方法。同样境遇的还有Dolce&Gabbana打造的超级奢华装饰耳机，既是高调的饰品，又是高质量的音乐配件。这一次，不仅把品牌热衷的贵妇精神和西西里的浪漫花卉“安装”到耳机上，就连价格也是超级贵妇级别。

这样的“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等轻奢侈品牌都在不久前推出手环。它不仅可以将可穿戴科技轻松地融入时尚设计，而且成本上来说也不高昂，对于这些非顶级品牌来说的确是一个机遇。另外，这些品牌主要面向对于科技比较崇拜的美国市场，相比欧亚，这一切推行起来都要方便许多。

走在可穿戴科技前沿的或许永远都是运动品牌，NIKE的智能运动服、还未成熟的Adidas 3D打印技术跑鞋Futurecraft系列，以及近来宣布一心要发展智能硬件的Under Armour。当然，还有需要用科技为自身增强信服的美容产业，也永远都在科技和时尚方面做新的探索。

尽管如今智能化的时尚设计已经成了不可扭转的趋势，但是真正能够像Steve Jobs那样对于科技和美学甚至是普遍实用性都同样执着的产品研发者并不多。科技和美学若终究有一方需要妥协，那么科技与设计融合的意义又在哪里呢？

或许，未来我们更需要这样的产品工程师：其能将科技的完美过程视为工程学的和谐美学，又能将传统美学价值作为普世通用的设计语法。