The year hasn’t run out quite yet, but we’re going to call it and say that the fashion-tech narrative in 2014 belonged to wearable technology. Every brand and its cousin wanted in on the space in some capacity, resulting in a consistent churn of new products and collaborations every week or so. It’s unlikely to let up any time soon, not as long as the term „wearable tech“ has a certain buzz and FOMO is still a thing.
This isn’t to be overly cynical about wearable devices. Withings put out a truly elegant smartwatch in June. Those who say they aren’t excited to mess around on an Apple Watch when it eventually launches is lying or crazy. Meanwhile, Nike shut down development on its FuelBand in favor of focusing on creating software for other fitness devices, a counterintuitive move when so many other companies are just breaking into the game, but one that could give Nike a better competitive (and collaborative) position in the long run.