MADE And Accenture Team During New York Fashion Week, Present Panel On Fashion And Wearable Technology

NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- MADE, the downtown creative hub, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) have teamed during MADE New York Fashion Week to explore the intersection of fashion and technology and to cultivate programs that examine how wearable technology innovation could be positively influenced by a fashion-first approach.

The MADE and Accenture relationship was formed with the shared goal of advancing wearable technology in the context of people's lifestyles. Accenture will help MADE develop its expertise in the digital and technology space while MADE will assist Accenture in exploring how fashion will enable valuable and differentiated use cases of wearables for both businesses and consumers.

To kick-off the relationship, MADE and Accenture will sponsor the MADE Fashion x Technology Panel tonight at 6:30pm, coinciding with Spring/Summer '15 presentations at Milk Studios. Luminaries from the fashion and technology industries will discuss trends, challenges and opportunities for "fashionable wearables." The conversation will be moderated by Simon Collins, Dean of Fashion at Parsons The New School of Design. Panelists will include:

• Paul Daugherty, Chief Technology Officer, Accenture
• Becca McCharen, Designer and Director, Chromat
• Kathleen Flood, Producer, The Creators Project
• Dr. Sabine Seymour, CEO, Moondial
• Rey Peralta, Chief Architect, Muzse Labs at Milk Studios

"We are thrilled to be working with Accenture at this season's MADE Fashion week. As technology continues to merge into our world of lifestyle and fashion, with Accenture, we are exploring the different ways we can collaborate between the two in order to give a different perspective to our world," says Keith Baptista, Co-Founder of MADE Fashion Week.

"Accenture believes in the power of wearable technology to transform the way people live and work but broad consumer adoption won't occur until wearables are designed from a fashion-first perspective while incorporating innovative technology features," said Paul Daugherty. "In the near future, wearables will become fashion accessories indistinguishable from prescription lenses, sunglasses or jewelry and will be embedded in apparel, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for both enterprises and consumers alike. We are thrilled about our relationship with MADE and helping to shape and influence this exciting and important intersection of fashion and technology."

Accenture's collaboration with MADE extends its current work with leading clients on cutting edge consumer and enterprise deployments. Recent research and development activities in wearables include innovative projects led by Accenture Technology Labs and Fjord, part of Accenture Interactive, which have demonstrated powerful applications of wearable devices that provide doctors with hands-free access to critical patient information and that give more independence to patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

About MADE | MADE is a downtown creative hub that encompasses fashion, music and youth culture through its innovative incubation programs. MADE Fashion Week was founded in 2009 to counter the impact of economic recession on designers who could no longer afford the cost of runway shows during New York Fashion Week. Now in its eleventh season, MADE Fashion Week is a global, year-round media company that harnesses the energy of creative communities around the world. MADE Fashion Week events include over 40 fashion shows and presentations, events, and concerts anchored by Fashion Weeks in New York and Paris, plus an unrivaled digital presence at MilkMade.com. MADE is at the forefront of a movement that's making fashion and music more accessible; MADE encourages creativity, fosters growth, challenges convention and connects visionary brands to the creative vanguard of Fashion, Tech, Art, and Culture.

About Accenture | Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 293,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world's most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$28.6 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2013.  Its home page is www.accenture.com.

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SOURCE MADE Fashion Week