Evolutionary Wearables

摘要

Early development of Wearables emerged through professional silos of computer science and fashion design and resulted in two distinct branches typified by an aesthetic approach from fashion and by a function and ocular-centric approach from science. Attempts at collaboration between these silos tended to bring the two methodologies into conflict and often produced awkward results. Computer science is a field traditionally dominated by men and fashion design by women, so what is the future for wearable's evolution as professions are becoming less gendered? In 2009 the author established the Wearables Lab in Hong Kong. In 2012 and 2014 the Wearables Lab hosted research initiatives specifically focused on haptic interfaces where wearables are viewed as an interface between the body and the world. This article maps key themes of this research leading to speculative designs for evolutionary wearables.