UN_FOLD Article Submission [Fashion in Tech, and Concept Story]

Rosie Leggett UN_FOLD Article Submission 6006FD

“How fast can I go?”

For as long as humans have had a sense of sport and competition, we have originated ways to push our anatomy to its limits. Fibre optic technology woven into technical sportswear has allowed XELFLEX (pron: ex-el-flex) to revolutionise the training of elite athletes, and push them beyond their goals.

Could this be what it takes to build a ‘super elite’ athlete?

The nature of the technology creates a level playing field – once the suit goes on there is no gender bias in the training or the assessment of abilities.

The impact this could have on women’s sport has the potential to be enormous – meaning that they are trained without the preconception that they will ‘train like a girl’. ‘Super elite’ doesn’t have to be gender specific; this development takes another step forward in stamping out gender discrimination.

The science behind XELFLEX is surprisingly simple – optical fibres are woven into the fabric of your sportswear, and the bend in the light measures the angles of your body as you train. The wearer can then see how they could improve their movements – via smartphone feedback - so they are able to perform the optimum technique to achieve results.

The technology has major implications for young people in sport, who will face a difference in their training. As young athletes break into their sport, their training focusses on technique. They clearly have the aptitude and the skill for the sport, however, to get to the next level providing them with the most efficient and professional technique is vital in their ability to compete with the superstars. This is usually done by the judgement of a good coach, XELFLEX gives this judgement 100% accuracy.

The potential here, is to improve the athletic capabilities of these sportswomen and men so can push human performance to a new level of excellence. Children and young people learn more efficiently than adults due to the development of their prefrontal cortex, they are flexible learners.

So this is the key time, as these athletes are breaking into professional sport, to perfect their technique and push themselves. Adults cannot learn in the same way, so current world class athletes may not get the same benefit – this isn’t to say they couldn’t use this tech, but they are less likely to be able to drastically change the key ways in which they perform. Creating a ‘super elite’ generation who achieve more sporting greats than their superiors is a real possibility with this advance in smart fabrics.

“If time is the ultimate luxury and people want a higher return on investment on their time, you need to give them a reason to be in a physical space” A concept store is as it sounds, a store that rotates around a central concept. This concept affects the design, the layout, the staffing, and even the temperature of the store. Story, located on Manhattan’s 10th Ave., is a retail concept that takes the point of view of a magazine, changes like a gallery, and sells things like a store.

The concepts that allow this new form of retail to be so effective have to work with all elements of the store. No concept store has the same idea behind it, which makes them so versatile in retail marketing, for example, Niketown London operates around a central ‘Town Square’ space where all announcements and product launches take place. A nod to the Bolzplatz campaign of 1999.

Contemporary concept stores are bringing the value of the idea into focus as opposed to operating purely around content and design.

Story intends to blur the lines between retail and media. Modelled around the idea of a magazine that releases new issues monthly; every four to eight weeks the entire store reinvents itself to focus on a new trend or theme. The entire substance of the store is rotated, including a total refit, brand new sets of products on the shelves, and the design of the store is given a complete overhaul.

Rachel Schechtman, a former brand consultant for TOMS shoes and Kraft, is the mastermind behind Story’s clever concept. Her intention was to create a retail concept that would match up brands and consumers; to develop an antidote to the traditional store experience. Schechtman has created an entirely experiential environment for customers in order to form a community around the store. Customers want to revisit because there is always something in it for them, something that is worth the time that they could spend shopping online.

The ‘His’ concept was sponsored by Proctor & Gamble, specifically Braun, Old Spice and Gillette.

One of the key attractions for the community of customers was a hot towel shave station and complimentary shaves given out daily. The experience provided a new and unique way for customers to engage with these established brands.

Concept retail is as relevant as ever in the modern fashion industry. Addressing the needs of time-short urbanites and creating a reason to explore a store as a physical space. Curated merchandise aims to bring everything the customer needs to one place. The store concept is able to bring an element of creativity and flair into a retail sector which has the potential to be quite cynical, and creates an engaging experience and a way for people to interact with this creativity.