The idea of wearable tech makes me cry. To me, there is no Venn diagram more illogical and daft than one that links technology and fashion. Naturally this, and the fact that I hate tights and love acupuncture, makes me well placed to try out a pair of tights that are claimed to make their wearer calmer, more energised and happier. Ditto my colleague Richard who, well, just likes socks.
ITEM m6 hosiery is created from the same compression form-fit used in sportswear and compression socks. The idea is that pressure is placed via fabric onto a meridian (the ‘M6’, in acupuncture vernacular) located two inches above the ankle. In Chinese medicine this is the spleen point, one of the most widely used acupuncture/acupressure points for general wellbeing. Its stimulation can supposedly lead to increased circulation and energy, stress reduction and an overall feeling of lightness. Would I really finish this article feeling happier than when I started because of what I was wearing? And would my colleague Richard, who was trialling the sock range, be more productive than he usually he is? Impossible. “Well this is the general idea and they do work”, explains Mathias Schulz, head of international sales at Medi, a German company that makes tights with compression technology.
Big talk, Schulz, we thought, and tottered off to the canteen.
Medi sell socks and tights in various colours and heights, which come with a built-in “pressure yarn” that “wraps itself around the legs” and designed to “define pressure in certain areas, where it is necessary”. Despite the terrifying implication that these tights are, in fact, autonomous, Medi are so confident their tights can increase your wellbeing they have named an entire line after a single pressure point – Item m6 (or S6, after spleen-6).
The tights themselves feel like Spanx. I’ve never actually worn Spanx, mainly because the one time I tried to, the whole experience felt like a backward child birth, but I got the gist. On the ‘ITEM m6’ tights go. Oddly, the most immediate effect is tranquillising, but that might be because I overslept my alarm this morning. They’re good for cycling – they claim to keep legs warm, too – as tights often are, and I come to work in a chipper mood, but again, this could be down to my having got that extra sleep. The waistband isn’t tight, which is my main bugbear with tights, but on certain parts of my leg – behind the knees, the bum, just above the ankle – they feel tight, almost pinching. As the day wears on, it’s hard to gauge how effective they are because I’ve read all the blurb before they arrive and I’m a sucker for placebos. But my legs do feel more ‘present’, if nothing else, and by the end of the day, they’re still fairly comfortable.
Compression technology has been around for about 65 years, and is used in compression socks (primarily used for flying, to ward off deep vein thrombosis) and sportswear. Medi launched their compression hosiery “for normal people” in Germany in 2011, and saw sales double between 2013 and 2014. Last year, they were introduced into the US and UK markets, because (says Schulz) there is a market for “wellness clothing” – clothes that make you feel better. Schulz wears them himself “every day – knee high during the week for work or travelling, and shorter ones at the weekend”. It’s fairly common for fashion to suggest that clothes affect your life (for example, red will get you laid and black will do the opposite), but is there any science to these tights?
Maureen Cromey, my former acupuncturist – who cured me of various stress-related issues over the years at the Chiswick Acupuncture Clinic – explains the theory: “On both inside and outer leg there are points that promote digestion and circulation, soothe the liver and balance hormones, and promote kidney energy and digestion. A compression sock will affect both sides. I would think that walking and moving with the sock [or tights] firmly pressing on the meridians would have the effect of gently massaging and moving qi within the meridians. Enhancing the flow of qi allows us to feel lighter, less sluggish and prevents the build up of fluids and general stagnation.”
Stagnant qi and body fluids, explains Cromey, “leaves us feeling bloated, sluggish, slight tired and often low in spirits. That is one of the reasons exercise is always beneficial. There is nothing to replace a balanced lifestyle that includes regular exercise, an appropriate diet, good sleep and regular acupuncture treatments. However, for people trapped in offices for long hours, these ITEM m6 tights may prove gently beneficial.”
Rhiannon Griffiths, a British Acupuncture Council member, agrees that pressure applied to the S6 point is nothing but beneficial to your qi, but thinks that unless they contain “a bead or something that can directly apply pressure to that point, it’s hard to gauge how effective they are”.
Richard Vine says:
“I don’t generally expect too much from my socks life. After upgrading a motley crew of what might loosely be described as “vaguely sporty sweat socks” to a robust utility collection of argyle-patterned cotton socks from Uniqlo a few years ago, it has been a while since I bothered to try anything else. Can ITEM m6’s “intelligent legwear” really offer a whole new experience? Feeling “a sense of lightness” and “vitalising effects” hasn’t ever been high on the characteristics I’m hoping for in my socks – it’s more an attempt to hit that sweet spot between comfort, style and being warm-but-not-too-warm in summer.
After a day of wearing a pair of fine-ribbed “Body+ Effect” socks, they’re certainly a lot slippier than cotton – does skidding around my kitchen count as “vitalising”? Not sure about the “lightness” factor either; sweat seems to be the only performance level that has really been enhanced. On the plus side, they have stayed up very effectively; the “stay-put” fit seems to be pretty efficient.”
To surmise, there is science behind this hosiery which makes sense. Compression socks, for example, do work. As to whether these work? Well if you’ve got this far and you’re anything like me, then they should work as a placebo is nothing else.
