This Is What Your Closet Will Look Like In The (Near) Future

From a tech standpoint, last night’s Met Gala red carpet was somewhat underwhelming. With the exception of Claire Danes’ glow-in-the-dark Zac Posen dress and Karolína Kurková’s Marchesa x IBM Watson (yes, the super-computer) gown, the incorporation of tech wasn’t as standout as it could have been. Like Katy Perry, we were expecting (and hoping) that Lady Gaga would arrive on a drone.

Disappointment aside, the anticipation surrounding last night’s arrivals and the Met’s new Costume Institute exhibit serves a much larger purpose: It is expanding the conversation about the increasingly important role that tech plays in fashion.

Why should you care? Because your closet is about to change drastically, and that change is likely going to happen much sooner than you think.

Let’s preface this by saying that technology’s integration with fashion is nothing new. As Apple's Chief Design Officer, Jony Ive, reminded the crowd at the Met's press preview, sewing machines were once viewed as high-tech. And if you look back at Katy Perry and Lady Gaga’s concert ensembles, the two have been rocking costumes embedded with LED lights and controlled by remotes for years now.

What is new is the reality that even though these kinds of clothes look otherworldly now, they’re already becoming more commonplace and widespread. In the same way that Apple has integrated itself into the fashion world by tying its name to the Met Gala, more and more designers are making tech a part of their collections. And if the rise of fast fashion has proven anything, it’s that what’s showing up on the runway can show up in your wardrobe far sooner than ever before and at much more affordable prices.

The future of fashion is interactive clothing that responds to your needs in the same way your iPhone does. It doesn't just look cool for the sake of looking cool (although Danes definitely pulled that off) — it actually does things for you and makes some part of your day easier.

So, what are some of the high-tech trends you’ll be wearing soon? Click through to marvel at the future of wearables.