Tag Archives: Microsoft

Bloomingdale’s pushes wearable technology with Microsoft Printing Dress for #FNO

7 Sep

One of the technology highlights from yesterday’s Fashion’s Night Out in New York, was the presence of Microsoft’s Printing Dress in Bloomingdale’s.

A research project exploring the intersection of fashion and technology, it showcases real-time tweets by integrating computer components and a projector under the surface of its skirt.

Consumers were encouraged to tag their Twitter posts with #MSBloomingdales to then see them appear on the dress.

The award-winning protoype (first presented at the Design Exhibition at the International Symposium of Wearable Computers in San Francisco in 2011) is otherwise made almost entirely out of black and white rice paper.

Although at this stage it’s essentially an art installation, the dress could also theoretically see wearers typing messages on the keyboard incorporated in its bodice to then project for everyone to see.

Bloomingdale’s was also playing host to the Swivel virtual dressing room from FaceCake in its window displays, which makes use of Microsoft Kinect to allow consumers to try-on items by interacting from the other side of the glass. See more in the video below, and read what else Microsoft is up to during New York Fashion Week, here.

Digital snippets: Alexander Wang, Nike+, Nordstrom, Elle UK, Woolmark

5 Jun

Some more great stories from around the web surrounding all things fashion and digital over the past week:

 

  • Alexander Wang releases autumn/winter 2012 Confessional Series video featuring Shalom Harlow (as above) [Alexander Wang]
  • Nike+ Kinect Training launch will mean virtual personal trainers in your living room [Mashable]
  • Nordstrom teams up with GQ for e-commerce push [WWD]
  • Watch Elle UK’s behind the cover video of David Beckham [Elle UK]
  • Woolmark Co sets social media campaign [WWD]
  • This start-up pulls in top pins on Pinterest and crossreferences against 250+ e-commerce sites [Business Insider]
  • Some 15% of luxury goods sales are directly generated by digital media [FT]
  • Square doubles its retail presence, now in 20,000 outlets [TechCrunch]
  • Can social breathe life back into the high street [Guardian]

Digital snippets: Jimmy Choo, Uniqlo, Nike, Michael Kors, Dolce & Gabbana, Amazon

14 May

Some more great stories from around the web surrounding all things fashion and digital over the past week:

 

  • Digital scorecard: Jimmy Choo 24:7 Stylemakers [BoF]
  • Uniqlo bids you good morning with new social app (as video above) [Co.Create]
  • The New York Times expanding street style coverage [WWD]
  • Dolce & Gabbana presents new eyewear collection with silent short film [Luxury Daily]
  • Amazon leaps into high end of the fashion pool [NY Times]
  • The Bottom Line: Pinterest vs Facebook [BoF]
  • Styku: how Microsoft’s Kinect could replace your tailor [Fast Company]

Nordstrom uses Xbox’s Kinect for interactive windows

11 Apr

US department store Nordstrom has integrated Microsoft’s Kinect technology into the windows of its flagship Seattle store.

The Xbox accessory has been used to enable shoppers passing by to “write with light” on the white backdrop of the display simply by moving their hands.

“With the help of Kinect’s infrared technology and their technical genius, our teams created a seamlessly interactive display that anyone can ‘paint’ on using just the motion of their hands in front of the glass,” Nordstrom posted on its blog.

The Kinect controller is reportedly hidden underneath a Dolce & Gabbana bag.

The interactive windows, which run until today, April 11, follow on from the store’s Spring 2011 Designer Catalog, a partnership with Glen Luchford and Ruben Toledo which also saw experiments in writing with light.

According to AllThingsD, Kinect for Xbox has also been used to create the world’s best shadow puppet and to operate a computer like Tom Cruise in Minority Report.

See the Nordstrom windows in action below:

Some thoughts on Web 3.0

25 Mar

I recently attended the IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting in La Quinta, California, where the key focus of conversation was on the increasingly personal web – also referred to as “Web 3.0” or “Ecosystem 3.0”.

It’s a controversial subject given the privacy concerns that come attached, but the industry is trying to convert such connotations of data to reflect instead feelings of opportunity and ultimately value for both the consumer and the brand involved.

Here are some choice thoughts from the event:

  • Web 3.0 is being facilitated by consumers becoming increasingly used to sharing their information, according to Doc Searls, senior editor of Linux Journal, a fellow with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, and co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto.
  • Handling privacy worries comes down to showing consumers they can be in charge of their own data, he said, introducing his theory of vendor relationship management (VRM).
  • It’s about consumers getting to a point where they’re more willing to enter into something because they know and understand what’s happening to their data when they do.
  • Omar Tawakol, CEO of online data exchange company Bluekai said we need to simplify things so people can visually understand what happens to their data.
  • According to Rik van der Kooi, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions (APS) group, it should no longer be about people versus data, but instead people and their data. “If we continue to see data as privacy rather than property, we will continue to postpone the opportunity that presents itself here,” he explained.
  • Tawakol said transparency is what will facilitate a move away from the conversation of privacy as one of fear, towards the notion of sharing as beneficial to the user. It’s in having a complete picture of consumers that we will be able to achieve more trust and stronger bonds, resulting in better value for everyone involved, he said.

It was interesting to also read The  Business of Fashion’s post on Web 3.0 this week.

This next phase of the internet, it says, will create an exciting opportunity for fashion retailers.

“In a world where people constantly share personal information, it’s becoming increasingly possible for retailers to analyse this information to better understand the specific context of the individual — her interests, personal style and other parameters — and deliver content and products that are personalised to her needs and desires. Simply put, “Web 3.0” will enable personalised experiences built on the data created by Web 2.0.”

An interview with Silicon Valley strategy consultant, author and entrepreneur Sramana Mitra follows. In it, she says the fashion industry could become more financially successful by utilising personal data: analysing it and designing and merchandising accordingly.

Read the rest, here: The Long View | Sramana Mitra on Web 3.0 and the Science of Personalised Shopping

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 287 other followers

%d bloggers like this: