Looking Ahead Towards the Future of Wearable Tech

For the past few years, the majority of media outlets have touted wearable technologies as the future of tech and fashion; an inevitable hybrid wiring us even further into the nature of the Internet and our present global economy. While this may be the case, progress on this front seems more than a little slow, raising questions on how the industry plans to dominant the tech market in years to come. Google just shut down Google Glass, and while Apple has yet to release the Apple Watch, speculations are already formulating over both its practicality and necessity.

However, despite these perceived setbacks, there really are a lot of groundbreaking innovations happening behind the scenes involving wearables. New York City especially has been a hotbed of recent showcases and events demonstrating the best that art, fashion, and technology will have to offer in years to come.

Just a few months ago, Intel partnered with Milk Studios to launch MUZSE, an artistic think-tank changing the way visionaries utilize technology in live performance pieces. Their showcase back in December, Adorned, was a huge success where attendees got to experiment with 3D goggles projecting animated projections as classical musicians got creative with chord projections. Later this year, MUZSE will debut some of the latest advancements in design and tech, whether it be 3-D apparel, improvements on virtual reality goggles, or aesthetically revolutionary films. In the immediate few months, however, they will be hosting a series of lab-based workshops to showcase talented artists, entrepreneurs, and performers.

During this past NYFW, Milk also hosted a Valentines Day tech panel with NBA player Carmelo Anthony, in which the discussion centered on new ways of infusing technology, fashion, and athletic wear. Like Milk, Anthony has also partnered with Intel in a venture titled Melo7 Tech Partners, and the event was a great opportunity for all three parties to showcase a variety of exclusive new wearable products and services. With the NBA All-Star weekend happening in conjunction with this year’s Fashion Week, the prevailing theme during many of the shows involved finding new ways of improving physical performance through wearable technologies. Meanwhile, other events like the TechStyle NYC convention, showcased a number of new beauty-related tech products by brands like Stylinity, Reddera, and Changetip.

But if you didn’t get the chance to make it to any of these events, have no fear. Currently, the Triennial at the New Museum is showcasing an ongoing exhibit exploring the role technology serves in our present society. Titled Surround Audience the exhibit is co-curated by New Museum Curator Lauren Cornell and artist Ryan Trecartin and features fifty-one artists from over twenty-five countries. The aim of the project is to explore concepts such as: “What are the new visual metaphors for the self and subject-hood when our ability to see and be seen is expanding, as is our desire to manage our self-image and privacy? Is it possible to opt out of, bypass, or retool commercial interests that potentially collude with national and international policy? How are artists striving to embed their works in the world around them through incursions into media and activism?”

Surround Audience opened yesterday and is sure to be a powerful examination of globalization and the role virtual reality plays in our everyday lives. Tickets will run you $18 and the exhibit is open from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., with live performances from select artists occurring during evenings. The exhibit runs until the end of May.

Over the next few months, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for more events like this that infuse technology within a diversity of artistic mediums. Keep checking back for more updates!