What you wear will have less to do with trends and more with function in the future. Or will we be able to mix both without any problem? Last week Google presented an amazing opportunity for designers who want to create fashion that can easily include technology. Basically, Google has created a conductive fabric at a big scale. The conductive yarns will be able to be integrate touch sensors and haptic feedback (for those hugging sweaters for example ;-) among other features that can be used in jeans, curtains or any other textile you can imagine. The most interesting feature of all this is that “the Jacquard team created a way to produce this conductive yarn with the same looms and machinery the textiles industry already uses.” as Wired explained. Design is the keyword with this project:

In an interview with Wired’s David Pierce, Project Jacquard head Ivan Poupyrev acknowledged that the real challenges aren’t technological. They lie in figuring out what people want. “It’s really a design problem,” he said. “Design, and cultural understanding.” Poupyrev emphasized that the company doesn’t plan to get into the clothing business. Aside from the yarn, it will offer software and services that others can use to develop specific products.- Virginia Postrel, Bloomberg View

“Working with a real, widely recognized and worn fashion brand is certainly a good sign we’ll see something applicable to everyday life come out of Jacquard.” Techcrunch

Image Techcrunch.