Fashion
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Birkenstock vs. Amazon feud extends to search typos
In 2016 Birkenstock chose to stop doing business with Amazon, citing problems with counterfeit goods on the site and shady resellers. Now, the shoe company has a court win too, where a German judge ruled that Amazon can't even buy ads on variations of the name that shoppers may mistype. Birkenstock's case is that if someone is lured to Amazon's site, they won't find its real products, just counterfeits that could damage its reputation. Will these two work things out? Amazon's spat with Google doesn't seem to be cooling off, but earlier this year it did establish a partnership with Nike addressing similar concerns.
Warby Parker recommends glasses using your iPhone X's depth camera
The depth-sensing front camera on the iPhone X isn't just useful for unlocking your phone or making silly emoji clips. Eyewear maker Warby Parker has updated its Glasses app for iOS to include an iPhone X-only recommendation feature. Let the app scan your face and it'll recommend the frames that are most likely to fit your measurements. This isn't the same as modeling the frames on your face (wouldn't the iPhone X be ideal for that?), but it could save you a lot of hemming and hawing as you wonder which styles are a good match.
Adidas’ first shopping app is also a personalized news feed
It's hard to believe that Adidas hasn't had its own shopping app, considering that we're living in the age of the smartphone. But that's all about to change. Today, the German sportswear giant is introducing its (aptly named) "Adidas" application, which will let iOS and Android users buy products without having to go to their web browser. Adidas says the app is designed to offer an experience tailored for every consumer, based on the type of gear you're into or the sports you play. The main idea is for you to have personalized product recommendations, and the more you use the app with your account, the better it'll be at knowing your taste.
For Nike, augmented reality is the perfect way to sell hyped sneakers
Buying limited-edition shoes is complicated and not as fun as it should be. The rise of violence in sneaker culture (people have been murdered for a pair of Air Jordans) led companies like Nike to launch hyped products almost exclusively on digital channels. But selling sneakers on a website, or doing raffles on Twitter, came with challenges of its own. That's because resellers started using bots, automated computer scripts, to buy or reserve pairs faster than a human could. If you couldn't enter an address and credit-card number in a matter of seconds, whatever you were hoping to get was going to be sold out.
Spider silk and stem-cell leather are the future of fashion
On Sunday, there were no cars in Paris as the city clamped down on soaring pollution and tried to honor the climate accord that bears its name. With Paris Fashion Week here too, garment makers must face their own part in the planet's despoilment. An incubator called Fashion Tech Labs (FTL) is trying to break the textile pollution cycle with new tech like stem-cell leather, recycled fabrics and ultra-strong spider-silk-based fibers. At Google's Paris Arts & Culture Center, I had a look at some of the tech and talked with FTL and the event's esteemed host, sustainable designer and fashion icon Stella McCartney.
Amazon tests one-hour delivery for your fashion show picks
Ever seen a style at a fashion show that you wish you could wear out the same night? Amazon might just fulfill your wishes. It's testing an option that delivers highlights from Nicopanda's London Fashion Week lineup to local Prime subscribers within an hour -- think of it as Prime Now for your wardrobe. Customers still have to pay on top of the subscription requirement, but it means you can get a bomber jacket or scarf in time to impress everyone at your next social outing.
Nike's secret weapon against sneaker bots: Augmented reality
As resellers of coveted Nike shoes continue to use bots, automated systems that can make purchases faster than humans, the company has been trying to find ways to stop them. And while doing things like in-store or online raffles have evened the playing field for shoppers -- particularly those who want to wear the items they buy, not sell them for a profit -- the process still isn't perfect. But augmented reality, a technology that's all the rage right now, could change that in the near future.
Nike made me a pair of custom sneakers in 46 minutes
Last week, Nike announced the launch of its Makers' Experience, an invite-only, limited-time event where people can design a pair of shoes and have them made in less than hour. And today we had the chance to check it out for ourselves at the company's By You Studio in New York City, a space created to take you through the process of making your own custom shoe from start to finish. That means being able to choose from a set of four different graphic packs, including the camouflage pattern pictured above, and the colors you want on the upper of your sneakers. The midsole will be white by default.
Amazon’s AI could create the next must-have fashion brand
Artificial intelligence is already assisting reporters, athletes, and doctors. Soon, it could also become a regular on the catwalk. At least if Amazon has its way. The online retail giant is busy developing a number of machine learning programs that could help both the public and fashion designers seek out the next big clothing trend. Of course, it would prefer it if you purchased your next dress or jacket from its own site using an Echo -- but that's par for the course.
How RFID tags became trendy
As far as wireless technologies go, radio-frequency identification (RFID) is one of the oldest. Patented in 1983 by the late British inventor Charles Walton, RFID made it possible for new, cutting-edge tech such as near-field communication (NFC) to exist. As with NFC, RFID chips are used to store information digitally, which can then be shared between objects through electromagnetic fields and radio waves. It may not be sexy, but companies see real potential in the technology, no matter how old. It's no surprise, then, that over the past few years RFIDs have become ubiquitous in a wide range of industries, including travel, sports and one you wouldn't expect: fashion.
'W Magazine' shows how fashion is embracing augmented reality
The fashion world loves augmented reality. From Gap to Nike, brands are trying to find different ways to integrate the technology into their retail experience. Now W Magazine, one of the most prominent fashion publications, is treading a similar path with a new AR-powered issue. Done in partnership with The Mill, a visual effects production studio, the magazine's Sept. 2017 Collector's Issue features an interactive, computer-generated image of Katy Perry on the cover. At first glance, it seems like a traditional magazine, but that changes when parts of it come to life when viewed through the lens of a smartphone or tablet. For W Magazine, it's about using tech to keep its print publication modern.
Goofy AirPod pockets are the latest ridiculous fashion statement
"I'm always losing my AirPods," says everyone who's purchased a pair of Apple's questionably fashionable wireless headphones. While it's unlikely that putting them in tiny pockets in your shirt collar will help much, Stone Island has come out with two new ways to do just that. Both pieces, part of the fashion company's Fall/Winter 2017 collection, will at least let you show off the fact that you bought the $160 peripherals while also proving that AirPod users are objectively the worst. (Full disclosure: I'm using my own pair right now.)
Amazon debuts its own fashion label for women's shoes and purses
Amazon has been making their foray into fashion for awhile now (really, what area are they not at least exploring?), and now they've announced a new private label. Called "The Fix," and available exclusively to Prime members, it will focus on women's shoes and handbags inspired by current design trends.
Gucci's latest fashion is a retro sci-fi mashup
While some designers look to the future of fashion and tech, Gucci is going back to what 1960s and '70s Hollywood thought the future would be. For its Gucci and Beyond Winter Instagram campaign, the fashion house showed off some colorful, kaleidoscopic fashions on a Star Trek bridge and transporter room, with Forbidden Planet's robot thrown in for good measure. There's also a daffy video (below) that captures all the sci-fi tropes, including a shaky, tilting Star Trek camera, a lurking Creature from the Black Lagoon and a giant cat on a rear-projection screen.
The world of high fashion finally has its answer to Amazon
To give you an idea of the kind of customer LVMH is after, all you need to look at is Louis Vuitton's new $2,900 Android Wear smartwatch. The French company, which owns brands like Dior, Fendi, Givenchy and Marc Jacobs in addition to LV, is the epitome of luxury. And now, with 24 Sèvres, LVMH has what it hopes can become the main online destination for high-fashion shoppers. CEO Eric Goguey says the site is designed to be the web version of Le Bon Marché, an iconic retail space often described as the most selective department store in Paris.
Amazon is the latest to offer clothes-by-mail to try on at home
Amazon just announced its latest service -- Prime Wardrobe. Adding to its growing list of fashion-focused offerings, the service makes shopping for clothes online a commitment-free experience, one of the few advantages brick-and-mortar stores still had on online retailers.
Step inside the history of fashion with VR
Google Arts & Culture has brought us virtual museums featuring everything from dinosaurs to presidential history, and now they're debuting a new collection. Their latest project, We Wear Culture, covers the history of fashion over the course of three millennia and charts how our culture shapes our fashion choices -- and vice versa. From virtual reality films to video to ultra high-resolution photography, Google has taken advantage of many different media to bring an interactive, one-of-a-kind museum to your computer or smartphone. Fashion fans can explore all manner of history; for example, how trades such as shoe making and jewelry making are passed down through generations. If you're a geek about fashion, you'll probably find quite a few things to fascinate you within this virtual collection. Discover how a Chanel dress, dating to 1925, changed how women wore the color black. Or take a look at how the corset has inspired designer Vivenne Westwood. You can also see Marilyn Monroe's iconic red heels and learn how stilettos became such a fashion statement. You can access We Wear Culture on the web or through Google Arts & Culture's mobile apps on iOS and Android. Google has done excellent work taking advantage of cutting edge technology to digitize museum contents, making these exhibits and important historical items accessible for anyone with a computer or smartphone.
Customize your Misfit wearable to match your sense of style
The fashion and wearable industries clash like plaid and stripes, because tech companies are not that savvy on style and vice-versa. Misfit has some of the better-designed trackers and smartwatches out there, but it's making a bigger grab for the fashion crowd with a new service called Make Your Misfit. If you order the Phase, Ray, Shine 2 or upcoming Android Wear Vapor smartwatch, you can mix and match from a wide variety of device and strap colors, then quickly see how that looks.
Amazon’s attempt to reinvent TV shopping has failed
Style Code Live seemed like the perfect bridge between Amazon's online retail dominance and its increasingly accomplished Prime Video service. Nothing is that easy, however, and it all didn't quite pan out: the show is over. The cancellation was unceremoniously abrupt: According to a Page Six report, the show's staff were informed of the end of last week, with social media accounts deleted the same day.
Fashion and tech collide in this VR-friendly connected shirt
Virtual reality is inescapable here at Computex: You're either stumbling into another Vive demo area or bumping into the occasional VR backpack. What's often missing is a sense of true immersion, and a startup called Machina is trying to fix that. Co-founder Antonio Perdigon was nice enough to let me don one of his unreleased "OBE" connected shirts here at the show, and after a little playtime, I think the team might be on to something.
