Vestechpro‘s Wear It Smart 2016 event will have an international feel to it.

The event, dedicated to bringing together wearable technology experts, will feature talks by wearable tech authorities like Francesca Rosella, cofounder of England-based fashion brand CuteCircuit, Kristine Upesleja of the US-based Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), members of Germany’s VOJD Studios, Pascal Denizart, the general manager of France-based Centre européen des textiles innovants (CETI) and more.

“We really wanted to have the best from Montreal and from around the world,” said Paulette Kaci, Vestechpro’s executive director. “But even at Wear It Smart 2015, many speakers said Montreal was the wearables capital of the world. We see a lot of companies and researchers active in the field from this city.”

Around 300 participants are expected to attend the event, which will take place October 19 to 20 at the Agora Hydro-Quebec in Montreal.

It’s not the only wearables conference lined up for Montreal this fall. We Are Wearables’ inaugural event in Montreal will take place September 14.

Interestingly, Kaci told MTLinTECH that an emphasis will be placed on education beyond the typical networking opportunities offered by the event. Wear It Smart will dedicate part of its entire event to “training the future employees of wearable tech.”

“It’s a new field so we have to strengthen our training programs in university and college. We have to think about what kind of training programs we need for this industry right now and we can’t wait,” said Kaci. “If we want to have a strong wearable industry we need competent workers - just experience in design isn’t enough. In wearables you need to know about electronics, textiles and more technical aspects.”

According to We Are Wearable’s co-organizer Meryeme Lahmami, wearable technology has had a certain cooling period within mainstream popularity.

“I think we’re lagging a bit behind,” Lahmami told MTLinTECH last week. “In the beginning there was an initial craziness but I think people are still waiting for wearables to take the next step and they’re not seeing it. Some are leaving wearables behind and focusing on VR or other trends.”

We asked Kaci her thoughts on the subject as well. She said a similar effect has happened to 3D printing, where there was heavy attention within mainstream media initially.

“When you see a new technology there’s always that initial hype followed by a drop, and then it stabilizes. Everybody always said 3D printing would change the world and now we hear less about it, but 3D printing is still going to stabilize and continue to grow,” said Kaci. “I think it’s the same thing with wearables. There was a big initial hype but everyone is interested in newer things now. At the same time the sales are still there and interest continues to grow.”

Interested in attending Wear It Smart 2016?

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