Why Wear It

Design meets tech meets companies

At Wear It Festival, tech entrepreneurs, designers, companies, investor, scientists, and media representatives meet to present and experience the most exciting innovations in the field of wearables. Wear It is a connect and develop initiative for future companies, and builds a bridge between ideas products, people, and capital.

Bridging the gap

Creatives

entrepreneurs, designers, artists, and creative people that come up with ideas

Developers

skilled and multidisciplinary thinking textile technicians, developers, and engineers that make ideas come alive

Investors

experts that see the worth in new companies and help make the product work.

More than a concept

What makes Wear It particularly special is that it was founded by a group of makers who each have a unique insight into the world of wearable technology and the endless possibilities that can be created. We created this event because we feel the demand for it, and we love to see things grow. We are simply more than a concept – we are living wearable technology ourselves and we are part of the global maker scene.

Fields of interest


Wearable Electronics


Fashion technologies


Health and Fitness


Computational Fashion


Internet of things


Sensors & Smart Materials


Startups and Newcomers


Science and Research

Spotlight on our core topics


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Picture by our speaker Tim Hüfner, CEO of Catapult Sports Germany

It’s a universal truth that technology has played a significant role in making us less active and somewhat more detached from our environment and surroundings. However, we have come to an age where technology has seduced us with the promise that it can save us from these ills. With technological enhancements we are now taking back control of our body and physical state. The latest crop of wearable tech gadgets can track your every move, the number of calories you burn, even the quality of your sleep, thus allowing for greater scope in the health and fitness industries and more opportunity for a technology induced quantified-self.
Remember when wearing any kind of prosthetic device – even something as simple as a hearing aid – immediately marked you as being somehow afflicted with some sort of physical deficiency? Those days could soon be over thanks to the emerging number of ways that wearable technology is changing how and why we use technology to improve our five human senses; sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

Once more, the disruptive nature of these wearable devices could mean a shift in the medical sector and an enhancement to the very fabric of our technology eco-system. We have the data and means of producing some of the most future-thinking devices imaginable – and its exciting!

There has been a huge acceleration in sales of wearable technology that can connect to the cloud-based services, growing from 8.6 billion in 2012 to almost 30 billion by 2018**

With the industry already becoming saturated with more innovations and increased desires, it is easy to feel stale and left behind. Wear It Festival is an opportunity to see these eco-systems emerge and to become a part of their development. Discover the newest ideas from our future-thinkers. Witness the endless possibilities this sector has to offer and look into the future at the desires and possibilities that wearable tech can offer.

** Figures taken from IHS, an industry forecaster


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Picture by our keynote speaker Moritz Waldemeyer

Fashion is an extremely powerful vehicle for communication. As an individual, you can translate your entire personality and create your own dialogue through what you wear. This is a market that has evolved and grown over time, yet can still remain personal to the individual.

Today, wearable technology has made progression in the fashion world. You only have to sample a selection of the latest catwalk and fashion shows to understand that wearable garments and accessories are more prominent than ever before. Designers are jumping at the opportunity to capture a glimpse of this new wave of technology enhanced fashion. The question is, after all the hype that will inevitably follow – will any of the new releases actually provide something that has true market appeal, beyond the early adopter set?

One challenge that faces this emerging industry is the ability to combine something that is both highly functional, and aesthetically desirable. In order for these designs and concept to reach a mass market, inevitably, the design has to fit. There is a real difference between making technology wearable versus making technology products that are desirable and genuinely engage with consumers through good design practice. This is why a universal dialogue is necessary. It’s time for the fashion industry to embrace technology for its full functionalities, and for tech companies to realise that they can’t do it on their own.

The market is currently on course to be worth some 3 billion by 2018. But with a true multidisciplinary approach and greater collaboration, Beecham believes that the market can accelerate and has the potential to be worth 9.3 billion by 2018**. Wear It provides the means for greater knowledge share between the technology and fashion industries that is the ultimate key to success. Until now we haven’t been able to communicate effectively – Wear It Berlin want to enhance the functionalities of what is perceived as wearable fashion, to improve the communication of your fashion and integrate the fashion world and the technical.

**Figures taken from Wearable Technology report 2014, Beecham Research
[ http://www.beechamresearch.com/news.aspx ]


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Picture by our speaker Madeleine Cordier

Today computers, and therefore the Internet are almost wholly dependent on human beings for information. Nearly all of the data available on the Internet were first captured and created by human beings by typing, pressing a record button, taking a digital picture or scanning a bar code.
The problem is, people have limited time, attention and accuracy – all of which means they are not very good at capturing data about things in the real world. The Internet of Things provides unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network and thus eliminating human-human or human-computer interaction.
The fact that you can now use your smartphone to unlock your front door, turn on the lights, adjust your thermostat, and set your television recorder is all thanks to the unprecedented levels of connectivity emerging in what’s generally called the Internet of Things. A ‘thing’ can take a variety of different meanings and perceptions. It may be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a network.
If we had computers that knew everything there was to know about things, using data they gathered without any help from us, we would be able to track and count everything and greatly reduce waste, loss and cost. We would know when things needed replacing, repairing or recalling and whether they were fresh or past their best.

What part does wearable technology play in the wider trend towards an Internet of Things? We see wearable technology itself as a key enabler for this, rather than an end in itself. We see wearable tech as playing a critical role in the drive to greater connectivity, where we will interact with intelligent spaces through wearable devices.

Wear It seeks to stretch the Internet of Things through the discovery of truly disruptive new technology, in the form of e-textiles and so much more. This is achieved through a genuine multidisciplinary dialogue and through cooperation and collaboration of our strong community. We want to bring new dimensions to your connected life by exploring beyond smartphone capabilities into a generation of human-centric technology.


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Picture by our speaker Jan Zimmermann, Forster Rohner

It is common knowledge that Germany is a leader in the industry of tech textiles and today, research in advanced textiles is at par with any other form of advanced material. From textiles employing antimicrobial technologies for use in medical applications and sweat-resistant weave architecture for athletic apparel, to intelligently-designed wearable smart shirt, carpets, and sports turf.
We are constantly seeking out new functionalities in our textiles and we have the ideal conditions to do this, with elitist resources, knowledge and science and offers of sustainability. However, what challenges this new wave of tech textiles is investment. Wear It provides the necessary link between industry and investor. We invite people from all industries to join this revolution of design thinking – to develop truly multidisciplinary and innovative ideas and bring these to market.


Mission statement

Our mission is to establish new and lasting relationships by creating a dialogue between business investors and tech-market leaders. We internationally represent and promote aspiring designers, makers and tech-enthusiasts with a passion for technology that adapts to the human body. We pride ourselves on values of accessibility and open source to maximise creativity, sharing and innovation.

Our events include speaker-led conferences, meetups, live demonstrations, hackathons and Berlin’s first ever festival in wearable technology. We introduce our community to a host of ambassadors and professionals to provide mentorship in this field.  

Motivation

The wearable technology market is still in an early phase of development. There are wearable products yet to be invented in all key application areas. This is why the wearable technology market is at such an exciting stage – the opportunities are ready to be picked up and developed into many new products and services.

Today, the wearable industry stands in such a prominent position with all industries wanting to sample a part of this new revolution. Wear It Berlin is an opportunity to seek out these new technologies, these new desires and new markets and to develop some of the most groundbreaking innovations of the 21st century.

Multidisciplinary thinking enables a conversation surrounding wearable products, reaching beyond smart watches and glasses and finding their way into a wider range of applications. Wear It Berlin focuses on bringing the designers and makers to the industries for a universal dialogue to be established and for true collaboration to emerge. Wear It Berlin has decided to establish these applications across four key sectors: Health and Fitness, Fashion and Lifestyle, Tech Textiles and Engineering and Connected Living.

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