In our connected world, where health and eco-conscious consumerism are flourishing, the future of fashion is already being realized by these five innovative brands.
Nudie Jeans
Finding a pair of jeans can be a surprisingly stressful task: once you find the perfect fit, you’ll no doubt want to wear them constantly. But with continued wear, your favorite clothing thins, revealing worn-through patches and unsightly holes. That once treasured item of clothing ends up in the trash—and ultimately the landfill—and the search for a fitting pair of jeans starts all over again.
Nudie Jeans, however, is revolutionizing the future of fashion denim. The company is committed to ethical and sustainable practices, uses only organic materials, enforces strict fair labor initiatives, demonstrates complete transparency within their supply chain, and extends the life-cycle of their products wherever possible.
No matter how worn or damaged, Nudie Jeans can be exchanged, without question, for 20 percent off a new pair. The used clothing is then brought back to life and re-sold in stores, or recycled in various other methods. Customers can alternatively have their jeans repaired free of charge in order to extend the item’s lifecycle. The company also offers repair kits for those who prefer to do the job themselves in the comfort of their own home.
Dooq Sandals
Dooqs are the world’s first fully modular sandals, where the wearer is able to design custom sandals which perfectly match her style and mood. All of the parts, which can create 27 different pairs of sandals, weigh only 10.5 ounces.
The company launched their funding campaign on Kickstarter in May 2016 to raise the necessary finance to begin production. As a result, Dooq Sandals successfully secured 250 percent more financing than the initial goal.
One of the primary benefits of Dooq custom footwear is sustainability. The owners at Dooq informed us that manufacturing the soles of sandals typically generates the highest volume of CO2 compared to other sandal parts. With Dooq, the wearer only needs to purchase one set of soles and can then customize the sandal to match different outfits. As such, the modular design leads to a longer-lasting product—and reduces unnecessary consumption—because it is easy to replace any worn-out parts.
Plans for the brand include an app which will allow women to effortlessly design their own sandals in the not-so-distant future of fashion.
Ralph Lauren’s Polotech Shirt
Wearables are commonplace for a large portion of today’s health and fitness enthusiasts. Just snap on a bracelet, watch, or ring and begin tracking your health metrics instantly.
The digitization of activewear seems a natural progression for the industry. Ralph Lauren has developed a shirt that encompasses this smart technology, using silver fibers woven directly into the fabric to collect real-time stats. The smart shirt delivers live metrics such as steps, calories, heart rate, and breathing to the wearer’s iPhone so no additional wearables are required.
An associated app responds to the wearer’s metrics by streaming data directly to an iPhone or Apple Watch. The app cleverly customizes workouts based on the data it receives. The user’s effort, and their body’s response directs the workout, allowing the wearer to exercise smarter and more effectively.
Bhava
Bhava is one of the first global premium footwear brands to focus on transparency, sustainability, and ethics in their supply chain. The founder uses only ethically-sourced materials and personally inspects the manufacturing facilities for fair working standards.
The company launched three years ago with a cutout oxford that was inspired by a vintage pair of shoes. Bhava re-designed the silhouette in ethical fabrics, including handwoven textiles from India, the finest luxury ultra suede from Japan, organic cotton lining, and sustainably-sourced wood heels. When the product was launched, the style was trending and Bhava quickly sold old. This gave the company the confidence to continue.
Bhava’s Editor 3-in-1 Boot converts from ankle, to classic knee height, to over-the-knee length. It’s designed to be an eco-friendly footwear option, reducing any need for three different pairs of boots, while encompassing just one sole that can easily be re-soled to minimize landfill waste.
Bhava is growing internationally and is currently retailing at boutiques throughout Europe and Canada that share the same values.
According to Founder Francisca Pineda, the main challenge Bhava faces is finding high-quality, ethically-sourced materials from a transparent supply chain so she can feel 100 percent confident that there is no exploitation of humans or animals along the way.
Sona Connected Bracelet
In contrast to the array of smart wearable devices that are designed to track users’ physical activity, the Sona Connected Bracelet by Caeden is an intelligent device that works to improve mental health, individual focus, and overall response to stress and anxiety. This is especially targeted towards busy professionals.
Developed by Caeden Co-Founders Nora Levinson and David Watkins, who have previously worked together at Jawbone, InCase, and Skullcandy, the Sona Connected Bracelet measures heart rate variability—the gaps between heartbeats—and syncs the heart rate to a sine wave pattern—a natural pattern occurring in ocean waves, sound waves, and light waves—through a unique meditation experience. The result: alleviated stress and increased relaxation.
Used in conjunction with an app, the Sona Bracelet’s meditative tool provides meditation exercises, guides the wearer through the relaxation process, gives feedback, and offers advice and guidance for improving practice over time.
Unlike many smart bands designed for the physical activewear market with data screens, lights, and sweat resistant silicone materials, the Sona bracelet is a beautiful accessory featuring a leather band— available in black, gold, or rose gold— and hidden sensors that are cleverly disguised on the underside of the material. If this smart bracelet is any indication, future of fashion is looking a lot more chic than geek.
