Flexible digital screens, 3D printing, laser cutting, embedded electronics, LEDs, textile optic fibers..., as this year draws to a close, let’s enjoy a flashback on bags, jewelry, glasses and shoes that blended fashion and technology.

By Ludmilla Intravaia 

* Connected bag by Yves Saint Laurent

The Yves Saint Laurent Cit-e connected backpack in canvas (see here on the French brand website) has been created in collaboration with Jacquard By Google (all info here). The left strap of the bag integrates Jacquard technology enabling it to react to tactile gestures and thus, via an application, to control music, take pictures, receive traffic and weather information, etc.

* Shoes with aluminium heel by Bettina Vermillon

Lorraine Archambeaud, founder of the French brand Bettina Vermillon, equips her shoes collections with aluminum heel, made in France by a manufacturer of Formula 1 parts (below, model of the 2019-2020 Fall-Winter collection). Bettina Vermillon's website is here.

* 3D printing glasses by Hoet Design

The Belgian brand Hoet Design uses 3D printing allowing complex work on volumes, such as the perforations on the bridge of the Perfo plastic frames from its glasses collection Cabrio (see photo of Perso 9 model below), produced in collaboration with the 3D printing company from Leuven Materialize.

Hoet Design also uses 3D printing of titanium, as in the O2 eyewear model from the Hoet Couture collection (see photo below). Hoet Design website is here.

* Fine jewelry in 3D printing by Diana Law  

The Sino-American jewelry designer Diana Law combines 3D printing with fine jewelry to create the plastic accessories of her collections, such as this tiara L'Evolution and this necklace Hive Neck, adorned with sapphires (more info in this Boudoir Numérique paper here).

* Light Up accessories by Cyberdog 

The futuristic British brand Cyberdog has developed a Light Up line, composed of LED accessories, among which the luminous make-up Eyelite offers eight different colored displays (more info in this Boudoir Numérique paper here).

* Canvas of the Future by Louis Vuitton  

 Fruit of two years of research, in collaboration with the Chinese company Royole, a flexible electronics solutions provider, Louis Vuitton's Canvas of the Future technology was adapted on two iconic bags with flexible digital screens, like the Speedy, in the picture below (more info in this Boudoir Numérique paper here).

* Textile optic fiber by Louis Vuitton 

Unveiled for the first time during Louis Vuitton men Fall-Winter 2019-2020 show, last January, in Paris, the Keepall Lighting bag and the pair of LV Trainer Lighting sneakers incorporate an optic fiber textile technology allowing them to illuminate in various colors (more info in this Boudoir Numérique paper here). 

Update on November 29, 2021: This collection was signed by Virgil Abloh, artistic director of Louis Vuitton men's collections, who died at the age of 41 on November 28, 2021.

* Facial ornaments by Iris van Herpen 

The Dutch designer Iris van Herpen has embellished the faces of her models, with delicate laser cut jewelry, in her last Fall-Winter 2019-20 fashion show (more info in this Boudoir Numérique paper here).

* Solar charging bags by Lacoste 

The French ready-to-wear brand Lacoste has teamed up with fashion tech design studio De Rigueur to integrate electronic functionalities into its Infini-T bag line, a fanny pack (see picture below) and a backpack equipped with a solar battery, to juice up one's phone, by simple contact (more info in this Boudoir Numérique paper here).

* Trainers Track Led by Balenciaga

Balenciaga has adorned its Track sneakers model with a LED light sole for men and women (more info in this Boudoir Numérique paper here).

* Heated down jacket by Ralph Lauren 

A battery placed on the front of Ralph Lauren’s Glacier jacket, and a heating element, slid between the lining and the fill, warms the upper body of the wearer. All the info here, on the website of the American brand.