A bag that lights up to help you find your keys in the dark, a leather wallet to recharge your phone ..., from now on, fashion accessoiries can no longer be mere fashion accessories, they must have additional features. This is where De Rigueur comes in, to integrate technological solutions in fashion. Explanations with Cyril Bertrand, art director of this French product innovation bureau, established in 2014.

By Ludmilla Intravaia

Le Boudoir Numérique : De Rigueur is a product innovation bureau working in fashion tech. Why did you choose this sector of activity ? What is fashion tech ?

Cyril Bertrand, art director at De Rigueur : Fashion tech is the segment of fashion, wearables, accessories and clothing improved by technical features. For example, heating jackets, bags to charge your phone or bright accessories to indicate the direction to take when riding a bicycle. We chose this niche, because at the beginning of De Rigueur, in 2014, we marketed our own product, the Connected Sleeve, a leather case to charge a phone by magnetic induction. This leather goods accessory was awarded a CES Innovation Award in 2016. Building on this success, and with brands increasingly interested in us, we started to develop connected products for customers like Lancel and Jérôme Dreyfuss, in 2017 or for Lacoste, this year. This is how we came on this segment of fashion tech, while literally inventing a new trade, since there was nobody on this niche.

What do you mean by that ?

By helping fashion brands integrate technology into their collections, we have invented a new profession, acting as a bridge between two worlds that have trouble talking to each other. Before us, nobody did that. When a brand embarks on the implementation of a technology, it takes a huge risk, because it invests a domain that it does not control. The brand is used to its production line and to all problems inherent to it but does not know how to dress electronic components. It wants to be sure that everything will be fine. That's when the brand calls us, as an external R&D lab for fashion, luxury and sports brands. Since in the beginning we developed our own connected products, we understand what a production line is, we know the technology providers, in short, we know how the two worlds, fashion and technology, work. We are therefore able to implement the technological dimension in a production line, as simply as sewing a pocket or a zipper on a bag.

In practical terms, if a brand wants to work with you, how does it work ?

We start with a meeting with our potential customer, a brand of leather goods, fashion or luxury, that will tell us what it want, for example, to integrate light in a bag. Based on the analysis of its needs and desired functionalities, we consider the different technologies available, with their specific design scenarios and financial costs. Then come the steps of proof of concept, prototype, pre-production, mass production, accompanied by tests, certifications and quality controls, necessary for the final delivery of a turnkey product. That's the complete cycle, but in some cases, our customers will choose to work with us only for some precise support, like technology sourcing, design and POC, while carrying out their production in their own factories. Each project is different because each client is unique. We are not here to sell technical components but to accompany the customer in the creation of a project that resembles him, marked by his DNA.

What kind of functionalities can be implemented in accessories ?

The most requested feature is the ability to charge a phone wirelessly. That's what we did for Lacoste, with the Infini-T accessories, a backpack and a fanny pack, equipped with a solar battery to charge a smartphone, anywhere, anytime, by simple contact. In fact, for Lacoste, we have paired two existing technologies : wireless charging and a solar panel that charges the battery. We have also developed light features, such as lighting bands, so that an accessory is clearly visible in the dark or a bag bottom that lights to help finding one's keys, more quickly, in the dark. Other features exist, like security, for instance to lock the access to a bag by fingerprint or like geolocalisation, to find a luggage, in case of theft.

Why do fashion brands want to add features to their accessories and clothing ?

Because they have grasped the people’s need to improve their daily lives by technology. They want to seduce a more connected, more nomadic and younger audience who, on the other hand, is expecting more and more functionalities, as the fashion tech trend grows.

How do you see the future of this fashion and tech alliance ?

The future is very promising. The beginning of this year was a very positive moment in this area. Before, we used to play an evangelizing role. We would explain to our potential customers what we can do with technology and they would tell us, perplexed : so, one can integrate electronic components to leather goods ? We never tought about that. Now we do not have to convince them anymore. Customers who had never contacted us before come to see us with a very specific idea of what they want. They have already analyzed the market, think about the different features and they ask us how to make their project work. The same goes for trade shows, which now all have a dedicated fashion tech area. The situation is really good and everything is happening now. There is no going back anymore. Fashion tech is developing and advancing. With the democratization of technology, every day that passes is a step forward, in an innovative direction. Tech is taking its place in fashion, it’s a fact. 

To conclude this interview, would you have a book to advise the readers of Le Boudoir Numérique, to learn a little more about your job ?

I would say  “La Poulpe Attitude”（”The Octopus Attitude”, AN) by researcher in social psychology Christophe Haag. This neuroscience book explains and popularizes the functioning of intuition, in order to allow us to use it as a decision aid. It is not directly related to the world of fashion tech but it is a good book that is based on the value of experience, necessary in our line of work.

* De Rigueur website is here.

 * This interview took place, while writing a paper for Belgian magazine Le Vif Weekend, dated September 26, 2019. Discover it right here.