Rebecca Minkoff steps into the wearable technology field

Rebecca Minkoff is the latest designer to jump on the wearable tech band wagon, as the American accessories and apparel fashion house is set launch a collection of jewelry with advanced technological capabilities. The fashion house will unveil the collection during its spring runway show

taking place next week during New York Fashion Week. The five piece line includes a bracelet which acts a notification device, a lightning cable bracelet that can connect to a USB cable to sync and charge a mobile device, a compact mobile charger, a wristlet and iPhone cases.

The idea behind the collection was to create beautiful pieces that do not immediately show their technological capabilities.

Rebecca Minkoff melds fashion and technology together in jewelry collection

“We wanted to go after wearables in a different way,” said Uri Minkoff, chief executive officer at Rebecca Minkoff, to WWD. “Health is covered [in the wearable space] but at the end of the day, our customer comes to us for fashion — and as we look at this fashion-function mix, it’s really where she’s living. This is a hybrid area where we think we can have success with this customer.”

Prices for the range are said to vary, with the gold chain-link bracelet retailing for 120 dollars, the lightning cable bracelet for 60 dollars and other items ranging between 40 and 80 dollars. The wearable tech collection is slated to hit stores from September onwards, and will be available online at rebeccaminkoff.com and Nordstrom.

Some of the items from the collection will be launched closer towards the holiday season and the collection will also be carried by the three Rebecca Minkoff stores set to open in the US in November and December.

“Our girl wants to wear bracelets and jewelry and she has this relationship with technology, but for us, we're adding function into very fashionable items she would choose to buy, whether they were tech-enabled or not,” Minkoff said. “It’s a dual-purpose thing. We're not forcing her to have a lifestyle change, but added this dual functionality.”

More and more fashion designers are starting to merge new technological advancements with fashion. Rebecca Minkoff's wearable tech collection launch comes not long after fellow American designer Tory Burch revealed her accessory collection for the Fitbit Flex, which consists of a pendant necklace, hinged bracelet and wristlets that house the Fitibit's fitness tracker.

Ralph Lauren also recently stepped into the wearable technology race and introduced the world's first smart polo shirt at the US Open, which measures its wearers biometrics during play and sends the data to their mobile device.

Images: Bracelets from Wearable tech collection, Rebecca Minkoff (Reuters/Andrew Kelly)