Triggered by a recent article from Vogue Magazine US edition from May titled 'let's get digital' I sat back to re-evaluate the relation between fashion and technology.

As a long time believer of 'Fashion meets Technology' I might get a bit too transfixed and carried away with the Wearable Electronic idea. So it healthy to step back and see what others think and what is moving the fashion as well as the technology world.

On one hand we have the technology world which came a long way from black boxes of the 70s and 80s to the silver boxes of the 90s.

Technology was mainly measured on the amount of features, the sound power and to be honest - how many buttons could be added to make them look like a cockpit.

This changed at the turn of the millennium as personalization, individuality was getting momentum. Another factor for a 'softer' look of technology is that 'features' are assumed to be there and the differentiation (between brands) is in the style of a product, the look, the feel. These are attributes associated usually to Fashion, clothing and accessories but not to differentiate electronic products.

Electronic functions like USB drives, cell phones or music player look more like jewelry or blend into the outfit by offering different color options and product shapes.

Elements of the technology world like keys of an keyboard are transformed into fashion accessories. A recent article by TrendHunter.com shows a list of such examples covering many aspects of Fashion meets Technology.

The before mentioned Vogue Magazine article shows how todays technology style is reaching into the fashion domain by brands like Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, YSL and Burberry.

Even products like cell phones become part of the fashion outfit as many top brands are launching their own technology meets fashion products like Armani, Gucci, Diesel, CK and many more.

Interactive Fashion, clothing and accessories that sense, record, change colors and shapes, will follow the trend of merging fashion and technology fusing both world together and create a new segment that will be located on our current world view between 'traditional' fashion and 'traditional' technology as we know them today.

Rather than re-shaping and adding fashion and technology elements as we see it today, Wearable Technologies allow the seamless integration of both worlds into a new user experience. The technical function that we carry as stand alone with us becomes part of our self, that is of our clothing and outfit.

Dresses or jackets, shirts or shoes or bags, all these items will have some form of interactivity in them to enhance our well being and life style. Functions that might be practical and informative but also functions that serve viewing pleasure, satisfying the playful side in human beings.

Looking around in the fashion and technology world, consumers are very well prepared and open to such new products as long as they do add value to any of the many facets of life and life style.

Ideas and concepts exists how the future wardrobe can look and will work. What is missing is actual products that are appealing to consumers and that are in reach of consumers. In reach in terms of costs and in terms of being available in shops.

Neither of the last two are in place. Brands ask for high premiums of Interactive Fashion products and if the consumer is willing to shell out that much money there is still the issue that companies announce Interactive Fashion products in big style but hide those products deep inside the shops and on their online stores.

One of the main reason for talk2myShirt to exists is to help those consumers to dig out Interactive Fashion products and present them in an hopefully easy to browse form.

But there might be another reason why Interactive Fashion is not getting the momentum one would expect: there is no shortage on great ideas to integrate interactivity into fashion. What is missing is that those ideas that are worked out in laboratories and on 'kitchen tables' are not fit for the market, not possible to produce in a larger scale.

Would it not make more sense to share the resources and carry the ideas further towards industrialization? Having many inventions and patents without commercialization will not benefit anyone at the end.

The fashion community is warming up to more technology integration as it helps to differentiate and compete in a very crowded market.

The consumer is open to welcome any additional option to individualize and personalize his/her life style.

Are the Wearable Technologists ready to serve the market?