Fashion takes over technology at Colette

Technology with a fashion look and feel is this week's special feature at Colette. Until 29th April, the Parisian concept store will showcase a series of "10 high-tech items re-interpreted through fashion." The items range from a seasonless jacket equipped with solar panels to eyeglasses which take pictures in the wink of an eye, to a waterproof, stain-resistant shirt to a designer 'mask' which induces lucid dreams: all of the ten prototypes on display feature innovative technologies, often hailing from Silicon Valley, and all of them are styled by fashion designers.

Above all, the items are unique because they were conceived as luxury objects, with technology playing a discreet, invisible role. But it is unmistakably present, offering "unexpected comfort or stunning experiences, such as those provided by a transparent, self-heating fabric or interactive headphones."

The exhibition, entitled 'Fashion Hack', was devised by Carol Sabas, a French journalist and the US correspondent for Vogue Paris, who in 2012 launched the 'Fashion Guides' series, zooming in on cities like New York, Los Angeles and Paris to unearth the best addresses, hand-picked by herself or suggested by fashion industry stars.

To accompany her next guide, ‘Silicon Valley, a Fashion Field-trip Guide’, Carole Sabas asked a series of designer friends and US tech start-ups to collaborate and "create a prototype in 30 days, with no budget and no confidentiality clause." "The initiative is a way of encouraging companies to turn to designers. The objective was to drive these connected, sci-fi accessories out of electronics stores and into luxury goods boutiques," said Sabas in her presentation.

The first step in this journey is being taken this week, at renowned directional store Colette at 213, rue Saint-Honoré, Paris.

Fashion takes over technology at Colette

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