So, you go and buy yourself a stylish iPhone and then discover that the only protective covers out there are made of a very unstylish plastic or rubber. You have to protect the screen of your gadget, but so you want to look like a business executive in the process. No? I didn’t think so. Well, you are in luck, because some of the funkiest, most revered designers out there now have trendy, sexy little numbers available in store so that you don’t have to play the corporate game.
Why oh why must you do this to me? I am a gadget freak - especially when it comes to cell phones. As with the clothes on my back, my cell phone isn’t just functional, it has to be stylish and a great accessory. I’m culprit of jumping between service providers and subliminally losing or breaking cell phones so I can get my hands on the latest and greatest. I was doing fine, gracefully waiting for my contract to run out and perhaps for the next generation of iPhones to hit, when I spotted this new Verizon BlackBerry Pearl 8130 in light pink. Too tempting!
How many times have you been meandering through shops by yourself, looking for a dress for a special occasion, only to be torn between two or three? German designer Bernadett Penkov (of penkov) has brilliantly solved this problem through the usage of something called QR code.
Penkov will debut her usage of the technology at Berlin Fashion Week in conjunction with firm Pixelpark. All you need to do is snap a photo of the special barcode located next to each garment with your mobile phone (that has been loaded with the proper image reading program) and details, including fabric type, color, additional photographs and even sizes will be delivered to your phone.
Clothing designers collaborating on non-apparel related items is nothing new, but when it comes to gadgets the majority of designers have taken an approach that focuses on protective cases instead of branding the product itself. A notable exception would be the D&G collaboration with Motorola that produced the golden Razr cell phone, but since only 1,000 were made it may prove a bit difficult to track one down.
If fashion is obsessed with the past what would it take for it to truly embrace the future? Designer Hussein Chalayan continues to toy with the idea that fashion’s future lies in the hands of function as well as style and if this is correct then it could be possible that the future is nigh. According to Japan Times online a professor at the graduate school of the University of Tsukuba has developed a cyborg-type robot suit, to be worn by the disabled. It’s already in use and is programmed to read the signals of the brain thus enabling disabled wearers to move their limbs. Incredible right?
Although the suit has been developed for medical purposes its inevitable that at some point this use of technology will trickle down into the mainstream and subsequently be embraced by the fashion industry. So what could this all mean? Who knows? But once you let your imagination wander away with you to consider the possibilities for fashion, the future becomes even more exciting.
So you start off the evening with a couple of drinks coupled with great company then head off dancing in a pair of heels so cute that you’re lavished with compliments all night! By midnight you decide you just don’t care, you’ll go on barefoot if you have to, if only just to make the pain go away! Sounds crazy….I know…but welcome to my world. I forfeited comfort over style a long time ago when it comes to footwear. The majority of my shoes were not made for walking let alone dancing, so the idea of an adjustable heel is a dream which should have come true years ago.
The CAMiLEON heel allows those of us who put our feet through this un-necessary hardship to adjust a 3¼” heel down to a comfortable 1½ “ as and when desired. A steel rod in the heel with a flexible, yet sturdy leather sole makes this heavenly concept possible. The problem is the idea was developed with the working woman in mind - think Melanie Griffith in Working girl - which is understandable but perhaps explains why the shoes available for sale just aren’t appealing enough to make me want to part with my cash. Hopefully in time this will change but until then the trade off between comfort and style continues.
If you’ve seen the ultra stylish touch screen phone courtesy of Prada and cant decide whether to buy The Prada phone when its launched in February or wait for the much anticipated iPhone then read here. Although personally after watching this I don’t think it could possibly compete and I doubt very much that Apple were even worried in the slightest. I reckon it’s going to take a lot more than an aesthetically pleasing handset by Prada to beat the utility of Apple’s golden ticket.
Apple has finally unveiled the iPhone to much anticipation. So what does this mean for fashion? Do we care? Should we care? The short answer is yes! This latest gadget from Apple combines your mobile with the internet and MP3 player costing around £250. (start saving now)
What’s more the iPhone can screen television shows and films, take photographs with two megapixel camera, browse the internet and send emails and text messages. Hang on an apple picking minute…my phone already has these features! (then again I never use them) So what’s all the fuss about? What Apple have done is bring all these features together in a sleek, sexy, stylish device and made them EASY to use. Basically the nice guys at Apple have made it with you and me in mind. Read the rest of this entry »
If fashion is obsessed with the past what would it take for it to truly embrace the future? Designer 
