H&M WEARABLE LOVE

Short List
TitleH&M WEARABLE LOVE
BrandH&M
Product/ServiceWEARABLE LOVE JACKET
Category A02. Applied Innovation
Entrant WYNKEN BLYNKEN & NOD Hamburg, GERMANY
Idea Creation WYNKEN BLYNKEN & NOD Hamburg, GERMANY
Media Placement VIZEUM DEUTSCHLAND Hamburg, GERMANY
Production ELEMENT E FILMPRODUKTION Hamburg, GERMANY
Production 2 WEAR IT BERLIN GMBH Berlin, GERMANY
Additional Company H&M Hamburg, GERMANY
Credits
Name Company Position
Matthias Erb Wynken Blynken & Nod Chief Creative Lunatic
Jens Theil Wynken Blynken & Nod Chief Creative Lunatic
Larah Timm Wynken Blynken & Nod Group Head Account Management
Sebastian Weber Wynken Blynken & Nod Creative Director Copy
Christian Baur Wynken Blynken & Nod Creative Director Art
Muhamed Braimi Wynken Blynken & Nod Creative Lunatic/Art
Vanessa Fehst Wynken Blynken & Nod Junior Art Director

Why is this work relevant for Innovation?

“Wearable Love” is a groundbreaking new concept developed by H&M: the first fashion item that’s not just an expression of style, but an expression of love. It’s a jacket equipped with technology that lets you send a physical touch to your loved ones, wherever you are. "Wearable Love" is the first product of its kind and put H&M on the map in the growing wearables market.

Background

While wearable technology has been a growing trend for many years, most of the products available today focus on generating and transmitting data. But what if they could transmit feelings instead? This question led H&M to developing something different and unique: clothing that can overcome physical distance between people with the use of technology. The idea was born in an innovation program carried out by H&M. 20 innovators from various disciplines and from all over the world were given the challenge to use wearable tech to connect people and communities in a new way. The winning concept was then finalized and developed in collaboration with Boltware, a startup that specializes in wearable innovations, and creative agency Wynken Blynken & Nod which took care of the app interface, the product name, the visual identity and the creative campaign.

Describe the idea

The Wearable Love technology consists of flexible sensors and tactile elements incorporated into the fabric that evokes the sensation of a gentle hug. This virtual touch is triggered by the Wearable Love app. People can invite their friends and create individual touch patterns. With this product category H&M offers a new way of connecting with each other and shows how fashion can take on a completely new, social component.

What were the key dates in the development process?

Start of development: beginning of June 2019 First prototype: end of June 2019 Test phase and development: July-December 2019 Golden Sample: December 2019 Naming and final product design: January-April 2020 Release and campaign start: August 3rd, 2020

Describe the innovation / technology

With "Wearable Love", people can send and receive a touch as easily as they would send and receive instant messages. It essentially turns a touch on your smartphone display into an actual touch that the recipient can feel. The concept consists of the jacket itself, the “puck”, a detachable module that provides power and connectivity, the Wearable Love app and flexible sensors and tactile elements incorporated into the fabric of the jacket to evoke the sensation of a human touch. The app connects to the jacket through the puck via a low energy Bluetooth connection and enables users to send a virtual hug. The puck also has a motion sensor so that the app always knows if the user is actually wearing the jacket. With an individual registration code, you can invite your friends to connect and create custom touch patterns that you can send to each other's jackets. This unique experience enables you to physically express your love for one another even when you’re apart.

Describe the expectations / outcome

H&M entered the world of wearables to explore a new market segment and to ready the brand for the age of always-online devices. With "Wearable Love", H&M positioned itself as the first big player in the industry to tackle the future of connected clothing with an original and innovative idea. While the technology received its own signature jacket at launch, the technology can easily be adapted to any kind of clothing in the future. Hundreds of tech, fashion and news media around the world, including opinion leaders such as Vogue, Huffington Post, RTL and HLN covered the innovation by H&M, creating more than 300 million impressions in earned media with a budget of less than 15.000 €. And the idea sent a message to the whole fashion world that the latest trend doesn’t just have to be clothes that people love, but ones that help people love each other.