Ralph Lauren launches PoloTech smartshirt

Ralph Lauren will once again be outfitting the U.S. Open. As the event looms on the horizon, the iconic fashion label has selected the perfect time to launch their PoloTech smartshirt. Last year, Ralph Lauren sent the whole fashion industry's head spinning when they announced that they would be developing an athletic shirt embedded with silver sensors and fibers that would allow the wearer to capture biometric information such as heart rate, breathing rate and depth, movement, steps taken, and calories burned.

The shirt, referred to as the "the ultimate preppy tech" by Vox publication "The Verge", is the fashionable sports techie's dream come true, and sounded too futuristic to be a reality, but, now, here it is. The technology transmits all the information via a little black box attached to the shirt to an iOS app. The shirt itself is made of a black technical fabric and is done in a short-sleeve crewneck-style and has both the word "POLO" along with the company's signature horse and jockey logo on it in yellow.

Polo Ralph Lauren "smartshirt" fusing the worlds of fashion and technology

The attendees of the U.S. open were the first to have the privilege to view the collection when it was worn by a first-time player, in addition to hand full of ball boys, but, now, the rest of the public will have their chance to get their hands on the collection. The shirt is available for pre-order on ralphlauren.com, and will be available for pickup in the Polo Ralph Lauren flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. The shirt will also be available at the Ralph Lauren pop-up store on the U.S. Open premises.

The price point for the shirt, which goes on sale August 27, is 295 dollars. Upon purchasing the shirt, customers will be prompted to download a companion app to view their data and search a library of workouts. For the technical components of the shirt, Ralph Lauren enlisted Montreal based OMsignal who has a virtually identical shirt minus the Polo Ralph Lauren logos. Galvanized, the New York-based health and fitness company, helped develop the app.

This shirt is expected to be one of the first in a new world of "smartwear", with Tommy Hilfiger and Opening Ceremony releasing phone charging outerwear this year. Research firms are predicting that smartwear technology will eventually be a billion dollar market. This shirt is also the beginning to the relaunch of Ralph Lauren's Polo Sport Brand which shuttered in 2000 after 8 years, with sport now being positioned as a "broader more athletic focused category" according to a press release.

David Lauren, Executive Vice President for Advertising, Marketing, and Communications at Ralph Lauren, has said that a women's version of the shirt is on the way. The company also has plans for more casually connected apparel, like a polo shirt that can be worn all day, not just during exercise. Lauren has also said that a "smartsuit" isn't out of the question either, so fashion could be taking a very technological turn in the coming years.

photo:engadget.net