Last night, the Best Buy event closed with a fashion show that focused on wearable tech. For those of you who don’t want to admit it, this phenomenon is here to stay! The beauty of these devices is that they help you monitor your health, fitness goals, calorie intake, etc. But while they may provide useful information, let’s be honest: you’ll attach a gadget to your body only if it’s fashionable. This year’s fashion show was even better than ever.
The hosts for the evening were tech expert Tom Emrich and style Maven Afiya Francisco. Over 24 vendors showcased a piece of wearable tech including Bellabeat, Fitbit, Fossil, Homido VR, iHealth Labs, LG, Marley, Monster, and Skull Candy. I want all of it!
Three trends to note from this year’s runway show: Health & Fitness, Fashion, and Virtual Reality.
Health & Fitness: Wearable tech started by tracking people’s steps and calories burned. Today, the list includes tracking your sleep, menstrual cycle, as well as monitors your heart and pulse rate. Let’s take Muse, for instance, it’s a brain sensing headset that can monitor your stress level and coaches you to a meditative state. The purpose of this gadget is to calm the body and meditate effectively. Most of us think we are meditating incorrectly; this is where Muse serves a purpose. Regardless, wearable technology has gotten smarter with sensors that are worn on the body to be able to give an individual much more data. Ultimately, most of the devices on the runway are there to improve one’s health goals.
Fashion: Why else would Best Buy host a fashion show, right? Wearable tech has shifted from being a device to looking like fashionable accessories that you’ll see at the department store. Brands like Tom Tom, Polar, or Garmin have definitely upped their fashion game by offering devices that are more aesthetically pleasing. Fossil has made a commitment to creating over 100 style-savvy wearable tech accessories. Even Kate Spade had entered the game with a line of colourful and fun patterned tracking bracelets. At some point in the future, we’ll be wearing tracking device without realising it as we see a move from gizmos to accessories. I’d totally rock a Kate Spade bracelet and have it track my sleep at the same time. That’s killing two birds with one stone.
Virtual Reality: With the outburst of new VR headsets, this technology allows you to “be in” the content rather than watching it. The change with virtual reality is that it places you inside the content so that you have a 360 experience. Giving you a reality that you’ve never experienced before. This shifts a viewer from a watcher to an experiencer. Homido, Merge, and Noon VR all showcased their stylish headsets. The similarity is that all you need to do is put your smartphone at the front of the headset, and then wear it over you head. Enter: A new reality.
Beyond theses trends, headsets made a presence on the runway. Especially, Blue-tooth enabled wireless headsets. Jabra and SKULLCANDY were among the brand to bring cord-free headsets. People are finding headset cords annoying to deal with. I could get onboard  with this concept, could you?
Jabra Sport Pulse is another wireless headset but this one also tracks your heart rate. 
WOW! In addition, the device can coach you accordingly so that you don’t workout too aggressively (if that’s a concern for your heart). It also works as a trainer since it’ll motivate you to do a series of workouts. It’ll even count the number of crunches you do – so no cheating!
Another cool headset from SKULLCANDY is the Smokin’ Buds 2 In-Ear Sound Isolating Bluetooth Headphones. It includes removable Flex-Collar for the times you are at the gym and you want to take off your headset but don’t want to misplace them. This lets you comfortable drape around your neck and not have to deal with the cords.
I’m obsessed over the Monster Element in ROSE GOLD. It’s a wireless headset and the colour is on fleek. It’s the right kind of rose gold. They looked great on the runway. And I want a pair. That is all!
Staying Zen on the Runway. Muse made an appearance on the runway with the stylish white headsets. Of course, meditation is key for healthy living. Muse recently updated the product, so that it calibrates your brain’s state easier than having to answer a few questions. They also offer more options such as a guided meditation and more sounds instead of rainforest or waves.  Besides meditation, a lot of tracking devices are monitoring your sleep. This feature was referenced on the runway a couple of times with products from BellaBeats, MisFit, and Fossil. You never realise how important it is until you try it. And then notice that you wake up a lot more during your sleep. Or that’s what I realised!
You might say, who cares about data? The purpose of wearable tech is that it’s supposed to help you achieve your health goals. As mentioned before, wearable is becoming more of an accessory than a gizmo. In addition, people will be obtaining more data about their health status and activity level. Back to the original question, who cares? Well, if you aren’t inspired to do anything with the information, that’s cool. But the information is useful for your health care practitioner or even trainer. So, the data does serve a purpose.
I’m looking forward to next year’s fashion show by Best Buy. What’s your prediction for wearable tech? And do you like the styles that you’ve seen on the runway? Love to hear your thoughts. Comment below.
Cheers to great health!
