The renowned Scottish golf clothing brand, Glenmuir, has just revealed its Autumn/Winter collection for 2018. Probably the most interesting feature of the collection is the g.Wick technology (RRP: £54.95). It is a lightweight performance midlayer bonded with a tricot weaved backing to increase comfort and prevent friction against garments worn underneath.
The midlayer is enhanced for the female customer, g. Carina (RRP: £54.95), with figure shaping side panels and lurex detailing.
Two other interesting fabrics in the new Glenmuir collection are:
- ‘Touch of Cashmere’: a signature fabric and a first of its kind for the Autumn/Winter collection. Constructed using a combination of luxury cashmere and combed cotton the styles become an affordable and durable alternative to traditional cashmere whilst still offering it’s touch and feel. A highlight this luxury collection is the g.Munro (RRP: £79.95) zip-neck sweater with signature Glenmuir tartan effortlessly combining Glenmuir’s rich heritage with the unique ‘Touch of Cashmere’.
- The three-layer StormBloc™ windshirts given a design refresh g.Nairn (RRP: £79.95). The interlock fabric is highly technical delivering a waterproof, windproof and breathable material designed to enhance movement with its stretch properties. A new addition to the collection is g.Thurso (RRP: £74.95) a performance padded gilet with fashionable marl fabric and stretch side panels.
When will Glenmuir come up with a smart clothing collection?
We are still obsessed with coming up with more affordable, durable, healthy or luxurious materials to please our customers. This is all fine, but let’s bear in mind the latest consumer needs as well. Let’s not forget the rising awareness associated with fitness coupled with the demand for monitoring body activities.
The idea of smart clothing is not a totally new idea. The first smart clothing was created in 2015. However, we still cannot talk about it as a mainstream concept.
Trendhunter found that one of the trends in 2018 will be the invisible tech (e.g. invisible activity tracker). Another research company the Global Market Insights says that the smart T-shirts market is expected to grow significantly with over 50% CAGR from 2017 to 2024.
The very same company expects that the smart clothing market will be valued USD 4 billion by 2024. Today, these are the most important companies in the smart clothing market: Athos, Catapult Sports Pty Ltd, Heddoko Inc., Hexoskin, Lumo Bodytech Inc., Ralph Lauren, OMSignal, Sensoria Inc., etc.
I found one company that has got smart clothing already for golfers. Samsung showcased its Smart Swing golf shirt at the IFA 2015. In this product we can find a NFC tag embedded in the sleeve of Smart Swing.
When you touch your smartphone with the NFC embedded sleeve, it automatically opens up accompanying mobile applications. The GolfNavi app will tell you about the distance from your current location to the hole or other additional information about the golf club.
Here are some other great examples:
- Sensoria Smart Socks are filled with 100% textile pressure sensors to inform you in real-time when you are striking with the heel or the ball of your foot.
- Ralph Lauren’s PoloTech Shirt: it can tell your heart rate and variability, breathing depth and recovery, the intensity of movement, energy output and stress levels, steps taken and calories burned.
- Hoxoskin Smart: it is capable of tracking the wearer’s heart rate, heart rate recovery, heart rate variability, breathing rate, VO2 max, minute ventilation, activity level, acceleration, calories, cadence, and steps.
As you can see there are very few smart golf clothes. I believe they can be a great help if we want to improve our performance and/or to eliminate the possibility of any injuries. In the coming years if there will be any golf smart clothes they will be pricey as the technology is still expensive.