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Amazon's next foray into fashion is a personal shopping service
Amazon's adventures in fashion haven't usually set the world on fire, but it might have a more appealing option: have someone else pick your apparel choices. It just launched a Personal Shopper by Prime Wardrobe service that, for $5 per month on top of Prime, has a stylist choose clothes based on your tastes. You start with a survey that helps set your preferences and measurements (a tight fit, a retro look and a long torso, for example), and then stay in touch with the stylist through the Amazon app to fine-tune the selection. You get as many as eight of those hand-picked items in a monthly box (you can preview the contents) and pay only for what you keep beyond the one-week try-on period.
'Mobile Suit Gundam' celebrates its 40th Anniversary with... Fila?
While we're just hours away from Neon Genesis Evangelion making its Netflix debut, a different flashback from the 90s is teaming up with an even older representative from the mecha anime genre. For the 40th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam, it's teamed up with Fila Korea for some celebratory streetwear.
A digital 'dress' sold for $9,500
Ever bought clothes primarily to impress your online friends? Now you might just get the chance to buy clothes that exist solely online. Dutch startup The Fabricant, Dapper Labs and artist Johanna Jaskowska recently sold a digital dress, Iridescence, for $9,500 on the blockchain. It's not like buying a costume in a video game -- the creators will 'tailor' it for you based on a photo, and its nature as a blockchain asset both makes it unique and gives it value like cryptocurrency. It's also based on 2D patterns used for conventional clothes, so you could theoretically create a real life equivalent.
NBA smart jersey switches your player allegiances on the fly
Sports jerseys are big commitments for fans -- you're betting that your favorite player won't switch teams, take a nose dive or otherwise prove embarrassing. In the future, though, you might just have to pull out your phone to change allegiances. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has demonstrated a smart, jersey that would switch the player name and number in a matter of seconds. If you're disappointed in a star forward or just want to root for a different team while they're in town, you could give yourself a 'new' jersey by launching a phone app.
Vans' NASA collection is built for sneakerheads and space nerds
Vans is continuing its run of iconic collections with the release of a NASA "Space Voyager" line that spans sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Inspired by the textures and features of the space agency's original gear, the items include two variations of Vans' popular Sk8-Hi shoes with detachable velcro patches emblazoned with the Voyager 1 and 2 and Apollo 11 logos respectively.
Tommy Hilfiger tracks, rewards you for wearing its smart clothes
How do you convince everyday people to serve as unofficial ambassadors for a fashion brand? Make smart clothes, apparently. Tommy Hilfiger is launching a Tommy Jeans Xplore garment line that uses embedded Bluetooth smart tags (connected to the company's iOS app) to provide "one-of-a-kind rewards and experiences" to buyers. The more you wear the clothes, the more points you earn -- basically, you're getting a handful of perks for becoming a walking billboard.
Adidas pledges to only use recycled plastics by 2024
Adidas is planning to expand its use of recycled plastics well beyond its flagship shoes. The sportswear maker has promised to only use recycled polyester in its shoes and clothing by 2024. While the company's Eric Liedtke didn't provide a detailed roadmap in a chat with the Financial Times, he characterized it as a transition that will see Adidas take "right-sized bites" out of its budget to make the switch without hurting its profit margins. It's no mean feat -- about half of Adidas' material is polyester right now, Liedtke said, so an "overnight" changeover isn't in the cards.
AI-enabled Guess store helps you create an ensemble
You can try Amazon's Echo Look if you want AI to offer fashion advice at home. But what if you're at the store, and would rather not hem and haw while you decide if that top goes with those jeans? Guess and Alibaba think they can help. They've worked together on an AI system, FashionAI, that uses computer vision to help you create an entire outfit while you're shopping. A smart mirror can recognize the color, style and traits of what you're holding (such as the neckline) and suggest other items that would be a good complement, including clothes you've already bought online. Can't style your way out of a wet paper bag? You might only have to pick one piece that strikes your fancy to create a full ensemble.
PUBG tweaks 'zone of death' pacing in major new update
In its latest update, PUBG has tweaked gameplay to make it faster paced, more tactical and more violent. The main tweak to PC 1.0 Update 10 is timing in the "Blue Zone," a shrinking death region that forces players together as they die off. As many requested, it will contract at a faster speed early in the game, reducing the ability of players to linger and gather loot. At the same time, speeds later on have been slowed, with damage ramped up in the final stages.
Levi's uses lasers to give your jeans an eco-friendly finish
You may like the thought of jeans with a worn-in finish, but that look frequently comes at a steep cost. It not only takes a long time to finish jeans (two to three pairs per hour), it frequently involves thousands of chemical formulations. Levi's thinks there's a faster and more environmentally responsible way. It recently introduced Project FLX, a system that uses lasers to finish denim. The technique involves taking photos of the jeans and illustrating them-- the laser then gently marks the jeans based on that illustration to create the simulated wear. This cuts the finishing time from several minutes or more to just 90 seconds, and whittles the number of necessary chemicals down to a "a few dozen."
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.
Skip the line and grab a Uniqlo jacket from a vending machine
You can get Best Buy products, Snapchat Spectacles and Instagram likes from a vending machine these days. You can even get a car. Now, Uniqlo wants to add its clothing to the myriad of items you can snag from a machine. The retailer is planning to install 10 apparel-spouting vending machines in markets across the US over the next two months. Locations will include airports and shopping malls in New York, Houston and Oakland, among other cities.
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.
Luxury fashion brands slowly embrace internet shopping
Luxury fashion brands have been notoriously reluctant to embrace the internet. While you can find their wares on some third-party stores, you typically have to visit an old-fashioned retail store if you want to buy straight from the source. However, that's set to change. LVMH, the owner of many of the world's biggest luxury brands (including Bulgari, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton), is launching its own online store in June.
This self-cleaning bag freshens up your smelly gym clothes
At my age it's important to get to the gym on a regular basis, but it's hard to find the time. It's just as difficult to get around to doing laundry, which means I tend to get stuck carrying a bag of sweaty, smelly gym wear. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I owned a Paqsule, a new self-cleaning bag making its debut on Kickstarter today. It uses UV light and activated oxygen to kill off viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms, making your clothes a whole lot fresher -- maybe even enough for another go-around on the treadmill.
Your clothing could soon have stealthy heart rate sensors
You might not have to wear a smartwatch or a dedicated monitor to track your heart rate in the future -- you might only need the clothes on your back. Scientists have developed polymer optical fibers that are flexible enough to be woven into clothing, enabling sensors anywhere your outfit meets bare skin. And did we mention they're washing machine friendly? You could theoretically slip on an everyday shirt or cap to track your BPM, and you could toss it in with the rest of your laundry at the end of the day.
Amazon UK is reportedly developing its own clothing lines
Amazon may have become the defacto place to buy electronics, books and associated forms of media, but a number of other product categories are quietly booming. Clothing sales, for instance, have grown so much in the last year that investment bank UBS put the company second to only Marks & Spencer. With more and more people choosing to buy garments online, Amazon has begun looking to bypass brands and is reported to be close to launching its own-label fashion range in the UK.
Google project turns your daily routine into custom clothing
Most fashion isn't truly personal unless you design it yourself, and most people aren't about to fire up a sewing machine to make that happen. However, you might only need your phone to get a custom look in the future. Google and H&M's Ivyrevel label are working on a Coded Couture app that uses Android's passive sensing abilities (the Awareness API) to design a dress around your activities. Grant the app permission and it'll generate business, gala and party dresses based on your favorite places, your fitness routine and even the typical weather -- in a sense, you really are wearing your heart on your sleeve. The only requirement is that you keep your phone with you.
Boeing's spacesuit is light, cool and flexible
Virgin isn't the only company determined to make conventional spacesuits seem like ungainly beasts. Boeing has unveiled the spacesuit it wants to use for people aboard its Starliner CST-100 vessels, and they promise to be far more livable than the clunky spacewear you've seen before. It's roughly 40 percent lighter than previous suits, with layers that should keep astronauts cooler than usual. Wearers also won't feel quite so trapped or claustrophobic -- zippers help them transition from sitting to standing, and there's a wide plastic visor that should improve peripheral vision.
ICYMI: Finally, cars can morph into robots!
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A Turkish company says that for millions of dollars, it'll make you your very own Autobot (called a LeTrons) and while whether the car is actually driveable may be in question the video is still fairly incredible. No less an advancement for conductive thread, a $34 million grant from the National Science Foundation is letting a group of doctors, scientists and fashion designers create clothing that at-risk pregnant women can wear to track their health. If you're into augmented reality, this Pong game should get you going. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
