Every CES has a corner of smart clothing, and every year it promises the shirt that replaces the smartwatch. It has not happened yet. With CES 2026 about a week away, here is what the category has actually shown and what to look for this time.
Start with the cautionary tale. Google's Project Jacquard, touch-sensitive fabric you could tap or swipe to control your phone, shipped in a Levi's trucker jacket in 2017. Google shut down the Jacquard app in April 2023, and the smart features went with it. The jacket was fine. The software was not. Any garment that depends on one company's app lives only as long as that app.
The most persistent exhibitor is Myant, whose Skiin garments have been at CES since at least 2019, when it showed a shirt aimed at cuffless blood pressure monitoring. At CES 2025 it brought a cardiac monitoring garment with sensors built into the textile, named an Innovation Awards honoree, and a self-drying jacket that uses an electroosmotic membrane to move moisture out, which won a Best of Innovation award. Myant says its second-generation Skiin system tracks ECG, breathing, body temperature, sleep and posture.
Notice the pattern. The ideas that hold up are medical and practical: continuous heart monitoring in clothes you would wear anyway, or outerwear that manages sweat. Fabrics that light up or change color make good demos and rarely become products.
The hard problems have not changed. Electronics have to survive washing. Something has to be charged. Clothing comes in many sizes, and electronics do not like that. And an award at CES is a judgment on a concept, not proof you can buy it.
So when the smart clothing announcements arrive in January, ask four questions. Is there a price and a ship date? Do the electronics detach for washing? Does the garment do anything useful if the maker's app disappears? And if it makes health claims, has it been cleared by a regulator, or is it a wellness product that only sounds medical?
The short version: smart fabrics are moving toward health monitoring, not fashion. Treat anything at CES without a price, a ship date and a washing plan as a prototype, and do not pay early for a garment that depends on one company's app.
