Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Adam Selman, MasterCard Turning Clothes into Payment Devices

MasterCard is pairing with fashion designer Adam Selman and others in a program aimed at making an array of consumer products double as mobile payment devices.
By
  • Associated Press

NEW YORK, United States — Call it payable fashion. You won't need a credit card to pay for your clothes; your clothes will BE your credit card.

MasterCard is pairing with fashion designer Adam Selman and others in a program aimed at making an array of consumer products double as mobile payment devices, including clothing but also automotive products and "yet to be imagined categories."

"The idea is that virtually any device can be a commerce device," said Sherri Haymond, group head of digital channels for MasterCard, in a telephone interview Tuesday. The program was unveiled Monday at the Money 20/20 conference in Las Vegas.

Selman works closely with pop star Rihanna and designed her famous, very sheer dress for the 2014 Council of Fashion Designers of America awards. How one would hide even a microchip in such a sheer garment is, of course, hard to imagine, but Selman was chosen, Haymond said, "because he is extremely innovative, really creative. When we met Adam, his vision and our vision really connected."

ADVERTISEMENT

Other partners set to be involved in the program: General Motors, wearable technology maker Nymi, jewelry company Ringly, and Bluetooth locator TrackR, according to MasterCard.

Haymond said the program uses existing technology and functionality that MasterCard has been working on for two years. "People can pay with what's most accessible to them," she said.

In the past several years, a number of fashion designers have ventured into wearable technology, with everything from clothing that measures various health functions to accessories that charge devices.

As for Selman, he has produced a prototype of two dresses, gloves, sunglasses and a handbag, all imbedded with microchips for payment.

"Technology is vital to the fashion industry," Selman said in a statement from MasterCard. "What sets the program apart is that it features the technology, while still remaining invisible, yet interactive and totally functional with the wearer."

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Technology
Analysis and advice on how technology is disrupting fashion and creating new opportunities.

Is Generative AI the New Fashion-Tech Bubble?

The extraordinary expectations placed on the technology have set it up for the inevitable comedown. But that’s when the real work of seeing whether it can be truly transformative begins.


Op-Ed | Who Could Buy TikTok?

Successful social media acquisitions require keeping both talent and technology in place. Neither is likely to happen in a deal for the Chinese app, writes Dave Lee.


The Met Gala’s TikTok Headache

TikTok’s first time sponsoring the glitzy event comes just as the US effectively deemed the company a national security threat under its current ownership, raising complications for Condé Nast and the gala’s other organisers.


view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
The State of Fashion 2024
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
The State of Fashion 2024