Frockadvisor: futuristic frocks

I have a smartphone, but I get the sense that that’s just the tip of the technological iceberg. What mind-blowing innovations will I be wearing in the future?

The future, you say, that far-off land where doors swish open on approach and your phone can monitor your heartbeat? Surprise! We’re already here. You have been wearing technology for decades as textiles and cosmetics moved from looms and cauldrons to the laboratory. Your trainers can provide data on your running habits and your undergarments are climate-controlled.

So far, wearable technology has been designed with a male consumer in mind and space-age gizmos are all very well but maybe we don't all want to look like an extra from Star Wars. High-tech house shoes that vacuum as you pad around your home have been nick-named "dirt vader", but are aesthetically a long way from a good pair of Manolos.

Technology has to fit comfortably into our personal style or else it just looks, well, wrong. We’re talking to you, guy with the Bluetooth earpiece walking around talking to yourself. Where Google Glass has struggled, Samsung Gear has succeeded in making a high-tech device that looks good in an ironic, slightly retro way. It’s a natural evolution that form and function represent the ultimate design of any product. So, heart monitor blah, blah, blah; we want beautiful-looking things.

A case in point is this light-reactive colour-changing swimsuit by Rainbow Winters, allowing you to stun on the beach without the gym hours. And, using eye tracking technology, the Montreal-based designer Ying Gao has created stunning diaphanous dresses that gently undulate and glow when someone looks at them. Once technology starts combining with our sexual impulses, it becomes desirable in a very real way.

I feel like my kids are a visible comment on my social standing, should I go low- key or high-drama?

Emotions ride at the school gate between pert and affluent mothers. But remember: clothing yourself for this gladiatorial competition is only a battle in a very long war. Among the aspiring classes, your children are your calling card; they showcase your taste, spending power and indeed the control you have over your impeccably mannered and pristine progeny. This starts from day one.

Fresh from the trauma of childbirth, what do you reach for to dress your new-born, an immaculately presented Bonpoint ensemble, or a three-pack of babygros? When you close your eyes and imagine the perfect vision of your children, are you seeing the pages of Vogue Enfant or the Beano? The future starts here, mama.

Of course, for every commonality, there is an alternative. Let’s just say that your free-spirited creativity has saved you from the tyranny of aspiration, that your yoga-balanced mind understands the fleetingness and meaninglessness of children’s clothing. Let’s imagine that you sport your higher consciousness in the form of free-range children with tousled hair provocatively dressed in low-key, comfortable, inexpensive clothes. Controversial.

While it is vital that children understand the importance of clean, equally they should be free to get dirty, which is difficult when their outfit is the equivalent of a week’s wages in anyone’s money. Leaders in the field of low-key high-design for kids are, of course Cos, whose children’s range carries through the values of its women’s wear with an extra dollop of fun. Dunnes Stores launched th e Willow collection by Irish designer Leigh Tucker last season. It’s a perfectly-balanced collection for kids up to age nine and its spring launch is this month.

Push your bohemia towards eco awareness and a new brand, Supernatural kids, will satisfy the organocentric in you. It's great core wardrobe pieces come in the softest organic cottons. We must also praise Debenhams for its range of designer collaborations including, of course, our own John Rocha. Actually, hang the philosophy and scratch the above, we want Simone Rocha kids wear and we want it now. "Don't move a muscle, it's a Simone!"

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