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NYFW

Viral Style: The Tech-Enhanced Fashion of NYFW

In a special SS/2015 edition of Viral Style, we highlight the futuristic designs and sleekest tech-enabled clothing from Fashion Week.

Though the madness of New York Fashion Week has come to an end, the offerings to SS/2015 included a wide range of innovative design and tech-enhanced fashion that will undoubtedly influence many seasons to come. We've already covered Ralph Lauren Polo's projection mapped catwalk, equipped with hologram models, as well as the first crowdsourced, shoppable, virtual runway show (which may have been unofficially connected to NYFW, but was still officially awesome in our minds).

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Plus, VICE shot Hood By Air's latest collection from the warped perspective of an iPad, and our longtime friend Spike Jonze collaborated with Opening Ceremony to create a satirical play about fashion week in place of a runway show. On top of all this, The Creators Project also covered other futuristic fashion news like an open source, 3D-printed dress, an anti-surveillance clothing line inspired by 1984, and a dress that was drawn into existence with a 3D-printed pen.

Still, there was a huge variety of other next-level projects that popped up over the past week, so we had our resident future fashion columnist, Charlotte McManus, step in to give you the low-down on all the mind-blowing creativity. This is Viral Style SS/2015:

MICA Debut at Opening Ceremony

Never afraid to experiment with the new, NYFW saw Opening Ceremony reveal their debut foray into wearable tech (they also swapped their catwalk show for a short play written by Spike Jonze and Jonah Hill, but go figure). Created alongside Intel, MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) is a functional yet fashionable bracelet that’s able to connect to social media and communication channels—it even comes complete with its very own 3D cellular radio. And they haven’t gone stingy with the aesthetics either: available in a variety of styles, the accessory is crafted with precious materials like black water snake skin, Chinese pearls, and Madagascan lapis. For more on MICA, check out the NYT's profile on the sleek bracelet.

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The Rise of the iCatwalk

Didn’t get an invite to fashion week? No sweat – this season, New York designers have been coming up with ever more inventive ways to update their catwalk shows into a real-time interactive experience. We’ve seen the rise of live show streaming, but this time around, fashion fans were actually able to buy into the hype as it hit the runway. At the weekend, Versace’s younger sister label Versus made its brand new S/S15 styles available to purchase immediately online (because, as Donatella put it, “I don’t like to wait”). Elsewhere, the rewardStyle start-up made the BCBG MaxAzria and HervéLeger shows shoppable via the use of Instagram photos, as fans ‘liked’ tagged images which linked them to a page with purchase options.

Misha Nonoo x Dustin Yellin

One of the coolest collabs on show at NYFW, designer Misha Nonoo teamed up with artist Dustin Yellin on a selection of striking S/S15 prints to bring the mediums of fashion and fine art together in womenswear. At studio/contemporary art complex Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn, the pair worked on the delicate patterns, which are reminiscent of Dustin’s contemporary 3D psychogeography glass collage sculptures. To top it all off, Dustin himself hit the catwalk during Misha’s show, rocking a dress, heels 'n face fuzz look.

Rebecca Minkoff’s 3D Catwalk Experience

On day two of NYFW, fashionistas attending Rebecca Minkoff’s show arrived to find a pair of 3D glasses (shown at the top of this page), along with instructions to wear them for the last five looks of the collection. These ensembles featured garments with 3D prints, which came to life with a hazy aura effect when viewed through the specs (though some people claimed this technique worked better backstage than on fast-moving models). Off the catwalk, Minkoff discussed her other new tech-enabled innovation, made in collaboration with luxury phone case brand Case-Mate – these smart bracelets have been designed with functions like phone-charging and Bluetooth capability.

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What other fashion-tech fusions went down during NYFW SS/2015? Let us know in the comments section. We're already stoked for FW/2015.

Related:

Watch Holograms Strut The Catwalk For Ralph Lauren

Watch Your Designs Strut Down The First Ever Crowdsourced, Virtual Runway Show

A Fashion Designer Is Creating The World's First Open-Source, 3D-Printed Dress