Recently in Technology Category

Recently released by Luxury Society is a discussion on Who can bring the luxury industry up to digital speed? It was a tantalizing topic we could not refuse as at 360Fashion we are pioneers in the digital space since 2005, launching such professionals as Imran Amed's, The Business of Fashion website on 360Fashion Network. Imran Amed has since moved on to be partner in Luxury Society, and excellent social networking site geared towards the Luxury Fashion Sector.

Luxury Society polled it's members to find out how they felt about the digital space and their digital prowess and returned the exciting results of:

"Recruitment Revolution: Our members are far more likely to seek new career opportunities using social media, than using traditional channels like conventional job advertisements. But up until now, most luxury companies have shied away from this.

The Digital Imperative: Brands recognise they need digital experts who can bring a deeper understanding of the opportunities and risks of the digital revolution currently engulfing the industry, but they are struggling to find the digital talent they need and are missing opportunities to nurture digital expertise across the organization.

Prepared, but Under-trained: While professionals feel ready to face the rapid changes sweeping the sector, they are very unsatisfied with the training they receive from their companies. They often seem to be upskilling themselves instead."

Some of the problems that many companies face is the mentality of the past and insecurity of how to progress online into the future. Many clients say that paper invitations, store-only distribution, and the mobile phone is only for calling when approached with the idea to move into a digital arena. How can the fashion industry evolve or even hire a person when they do not understand for their own company what assets they need and how to use them?

"Everyone" knows that you need a blog, facebook page, and twitter which is very different from 2005 when 360Fashion launched and no one even knew what a blog was--let alone how to mobile report from a cellphone.

Blogger, a closed but free platform, seems to be the fashion industry's technology of choice without understanding that the data is locked into the google system, and is not an open platform where you can move your data out when technology evolves. Many model agencies will have a big surprise when technology evolves to move with it on old platforms.

Twitter, embraced by fashion culture and fashion brands as the new "white pages" listing often do not post relevant information linking onward to interesting reads, but rather talk about their lunch, or from a perspective where the reader is assumed to be next to the 160 character typer--often not the case.

Facebook is being abandoned by generation Y and taken over by generation X who are playing games such as Farmland it is assumed? Brands republish, regurgitate, and re design their facebook pages with the same information available everywhere on the web--and is it leading to sales all this interactivity? No, because they do not have an e-commerce web store.

What is a brand to do when searching for a digital professional to navigate this topography and not end up in the digitally rejected pool? How to find a platform for mobile that works in every mobile phone?

How to harness your social media friends to promote and sell your products on facebook? How to take advantage of creating live streaming online and turn it into a sale?  We think that 360Fashion has the answer and in reading Luxury Society's Advice we are sure we are on the right track in creating an integrated media strategy for any brand.

In the past year, Australian label Ginger & Smart has gone from strength to strength, culminating in an opening spot at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week showcasing a beautiful Spring/Summer collection that consisted of silk and georgette with plenty of texture and draping. More recently, Ginger & Smart have collaborated with Nokia to design a limited edition leather pouch for the new Nokia E72. Made from Italian leather, the soft grey pouch is small and compact whilst still being able to hold all the essentials.

The phone - produced in a rich amethyst colour, contains numerous features typical to a smart phone, including fast internet speeds and immediate access to email, 5 megapixel camera as well as access to Nokia's OVI store, which hold hundred of Nokia applications. This collaboration only stands to prove the increasing bond between fashion and technology and just how innovative the girls from Ginger & Smart are by embracing the growing trend.

Barbie today announced two new concept dolls, News Reporter and Computer Engineer.

Sparking titles like: Barbie as a Computer Engineer? from the bloggosphere, the tech girls like Catherine Eibner are taking notice of the change.

"...And don't even get me started on the unrealistic body images that Barbie portrays... although apparently In 1997 Barbie's body mold was redesigned and given a wider waist, with Mattel saying that this would make the doll better suited to contemporary fashion designs - but I digress!"

Someone at Mattel believes that Barbie is an icon to encourage girls to expand their imaginations to new careers and possibilities. We think that Barbie, computer engineer could have been more funky dressed in Eley Kishimoto, or Uneeto and styled up by Regina Harris and Lisa von Weise.

Mattel have received the votes back from the contest they had to vote for the next role model profiles. The Winner is clearly:

Computer Engineer - Computer Engineers have lots of Different specialties. They can do anything from building computers to making video games!

We have to ask however, why the News Reporter profile didn't have a cellphone in her hand or handbag? Are these Barbie's targeting only traditional media and not using the new mobile and social medias?

Los Angeles (PRWEB) August 5, 2009 -- Prayer wheels have been used by Tibetan Buddhists for centuries to bring spiritual blessings and well being to the world. Now with Karmacar anyone can apply Buddhist mantra graphics to their car wheels and generate good karma while they drive. The mantra Om Mani Padme Hum is the distilled essence of the compassion of all the Buddhas.

"We're starting with car wheels because we all know that cars need some good karma right now. You might not think of this as technology but it is, meditation and mantras are technology for the soul." said CEO Eduardo Sciammarella.

We're starting with car wheels because we all know that cars need some good karma right now. You might not think of this as technology but it is, meditation and mantras are technology for the soul. It's a simple idea that brings an enormous amount of positive energy to the world. This is bigger than all the cars around the world.

Net-a-Porter launched a sister site that's a whole lot easier on the wallet: theOutnet.com. This new designer discount heaven--no invite required!--features a keenly edited selection of over 200 designer brands, with everything from 3.1 Phillip Lim to Zac Posen.

The learning process of the web and what works can be a costly process, as traditionally fashion and technology have not been valued by the print magazine editors or understood by the publishing industry. Publishers are learning that it is not as easy to take a successful model working online for women and apply it to the men's fashion market. They may find that where men and fashion are concerned, expanding a successful print magazine online works better than launching a solo digital brand with content that is supplied from these publications.

The announcement to close the online publication, Men.Style.com, is a signal marking the reorganization that the fashion behemoth, Condé Nast is facing. "The US economy has contracted at a rate not seen in 80 years, forcing companies across America to adjust to the reality of this major economic setback. Our company and our brands have weathered this storm. However, we are not immune to the effects of the substantial revenue losses resulting from the deep and prolonged recession," states Condé Nast CEO Chuck Townsend in a memo Monday.

With the closing of their web-only men's publication, is the announcement of taking the successful magazine in print, GQ, and publishing it online. The staff will be moved over to the new online publication and the print team are overjoyed to finally be able to control their content daily. Condé Nast will also launch GQ in a Chinese print edition as the advertising market overseas is not suffering as tremendously as the west. Wang Feng, from Chinese Esquire, will edit the Chinese edition. The Chinese men's magazine market is expanding and it seems Condé Nast definitely want to be present in the publication offerings. Both of these editions will launch in October 2009.

Sarah Chubb who reports directly to Chuck Townsend, is leading the digital strategy of Condé Nast. Chubb headed up both Style.com and Epicurious.com and is president of the unit called, Condé Nast Digital, who's main task at hand is how to bring their magazine-branded site and other, non-magazine digital assets together. Until Chubb was brought on board, the strategy had been to keep the sites separate, however with the new economic climate, the strategy designed to make it easier to sell advertising across its sites is at hand. Logically, it makes and easier sell to extend the advertising dollar of a brand who is already present in a print publication to the online offering, than try to sell them space on a separately branded website.

If you cant be with us today at the 360Fashion & Technology Meetup event, don't despair! The masters of fashion and technology have created a live streaming facebook application for your viewing pleasure. Log in to our app and comment, share, and give us feedback while it's all happening!

Click here:

http://apps.facebook.com/fashionnews

If you can join us today, our event is as follows:

July 1st, 2009
3pm-6pm open call email for reservation: info@360fashion.net

6pm-7:30pm Interviews

7pm-9pm Networking

VENUE: COLLECTIVE HARDWARE GALLERY
169 BOWERY STREET
NEW YORK, NY
www.collectivehardware.com

RSVP HERE
Any questions please EMAIL US

360Fashion would like to meet up with you in New York on July 1st to talk for a discussion of fashion and online media July 1st, 2009.

Aimee Mullins was born without fibular bones, and had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was an infant. She learned to walk on prosthetics, then to run -- competing at the national and international level as a champion sprinter, and setting world records at the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta. At Georgetown, where she double-majored in history and diplomacy, she became the first double amputee to compete in NCAA Division 1 track and field.

After school, Mullins did some modeling -- including a legendary runway show for Alexander McQueen -- and then turned to acting, appearing as the Leopard Queen in Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle. In 2008 she was the official Ambassador for the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.

She's a passionate advocate for a new kind of thinking about prosthetics, and recently mentioned to an interviewer that she's been looking closely at MIT's in-development powered robotic ankle, "which I fully plan on having."

Notes from the speech: "What does a beautiful woman have to look like? What is a sexy body? What does it mean to have a disability? Pamela anderson has more prothetic in her body than I do and nobody calls her disabled. Fashion designer Alexander McQueen and Nick Knight ...doing a fashion shoot and first runway show. Hand carved wooden legs solid ash..everyone thought they were boots. Poetry matters. Poetry is what elevates the banal to a piece of art...In my next adventure...a film by Matthew Barney called "the creamaster cycle"...My legs can be wearable sculpture."

who reads this is ... super intelligent

Well Japan Fashion Week has come to a close but my involvement in the Japanese Fashion Scene has not! I am heading to Tokyo this Monday to attend the writtenafterwards graduation examination show. You can visit their website here. Be sure to read the latest Tokyo Weekender for some inside information on the best stores to visit in Tokyo here, written by Kelly Wetherille!

This month I was also featured by the fabulous Canadian LouLou Magazine. Thanks to Shay of The Ongoing Project for scanning me and sending me the clip! I also completed an interview with Miranda from Stylebyfire (Vancouver) which you can view here. My amazing computer wiz sister will be helping me do some much needed renovations to my blog as well in the next few weeks. Watch out for some exciting new changes. A new banner is in the works as well but it's a surprise!!

Read this entry on Clothes Line Finds.

By Anthea Tsoukalas
http://www.clotheslinefinds.blogspot.com

While Japan Fashion Week is in its eighth season, this was the first season for the Shinmai Creator's Project. Shinmai in Japanese means "fresh rice" and they certainly gave the audience something fresh to watch! They had the much talked about HRP-4C robot walk onto the runway to introduce the show! Five designers from around the world presented their collections to a packed house in two separate shows on Monday March the 23rd. These designers were chosen from fifty two potential candidates from thirty four schools and seventeen countries. The designers who presented at the show were: Nima, Donna Egro, Aéthéré(e),Shida Tatsuya and Sachio Kawasaki. The collections went off without a hitch as did the introduction by the HRP-4C Robot.

The HRP-4C was created by a team of experts at the National Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Tsukuba, Japan. The HRP-4C is a biped walking robot with its own batteries and computers. It was designed to be about the same size as an average Japanese woman about 5'2" and aged 19 to 29.

I can't help but refer to this creation as "she" in this article after watching it perform.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET3QW7pz32w Anna Wintour est peut-être considérée comme “la” grande prêtresse de la mode mais la France n’a rien à envier aux US avec Carine Roitfeld, éditrice de Vogue France. Loin de l’image de reine de glace de sa consoeur d’Outre-Atlantique, Carine montre ses racines dans la mode (elle a été styliste aux côtés de Tom Ford et [...]

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Read this entry on Mademoiselle à Paris.

Institute Professor Barbara Liskov has won the Association for Computing Machinery's A.M. Turing Award, one of the highest honors in science and engineering, for her pioneering work in the design of computer programming languages.Her achievements in programming language design have made software more reliable and easier to maintain.

The award, known in technology circles as the Nobel Prize of computing, is named for legendary British mathematician Alan Turing, who helped the Allies break German naval codes during World War II. It will be presented to Liskov by the Association for Computing Machinery, a scientific society, at a conference in San Diego in June.

In particular, Liskov developed two programming languages, CLU in the 1970s and Argus in the 1980s, that formed the underpinnings for languages like Java and C++, commonly used to write software applications for personal computers and the Internet. As such, her work helped to form society's information infrastructure.

Liskov's work helped pioneer what is known as object-oriented programming, now the most common approach to software development. She is credited for laying the groundwork for development of sophisticated programs tailored to financial, medical, and other consumer and business applications.

The Turing Award carries a $250,000 prize, underwritten by microprocessor producer Intel Corp. and search engine Google Inc.

Here is an introduction to Darla's Closet! I was contacted by her to do a feature on her Californian store. I am also working with her to feature indie designers every month on my blog! It's a great store and you can check it out online at darlascloset.com.

A: How did you start this boutique?
DC: The boutique began as an internet boutique – only. We then moved to a small 225 sq foot space and after six months had enough customers to support a much larger 1400 sq ft (although we only use about 800 for the boutique). The boutique mission has evolved over time; however, our mission to show women how beautiful they are (with our without clothes from our boutique) serves as our foundation. Women are so hard on themselves, often overlooking all of our great qualities and focus on something minuscule that nobody else sees. At Darla’s Closet, the clothes are the accessory. However, our boutique (which I am totally excited about) has become a place where we curate a unique collection of pieces, almost exclusively, from Indie Designers! We offer amazing pieces at reasonable prices! Fashion for All! Unique fashion doesn’t have to be overpriced.

A: What is your inspiration?

DC: I am a lover of art! I enjoy being in the company of artists and I guess I’d say they are my true inspiration. I can’t create the wearable art, we call fashion, but I can curate cool collections in an aesthetically pleasing space and enjoy “busting my buns” and pushing our team of shop girls to get our designers items sold! I love calling designers each week or sending them text updates with news of great sales numbers for the day.

A: How do you pick your fabulous independent designers?
DC: We think about our Girlfriends (customers) and what they might enjoy or look fabulous wearing; We look for a distinct point of view, our view may not be the right view but if it is distinct most times there is a potential market. We are not into great sewers who can follow a pattern. We are looking for wearable art.

A: You just signed another five year lease, what do you hope to achieve?
DC: Start a movement! More to come soon. . .

A: Can you describe your boutique in a few short sentences?
DC: Hip (at least we think so), eclectic, Southern California boutique featuring a carefully curated collection of wearable art from emerging fashion designers, designed and created in the USA! Affordable and unique fashion. Fashion for All!

A: What are your top pics for spring from your boutique?
DC: I am predicting bright colors, inspirational t-shirts that inspire and great dresses. Our designers are constantly creating unique pieces so it is always a surprise for us too. . . (Attached are some pics) T shirts by Heaven Simone – made on American Apparel T Shirts (made in usa downtown la – fair wages and benefits) Crochet by Tracey Ambrose WRAPZMJ Plus Size Premium Denim – Available in sizes 14 – 24 (designed and made in USA).

Read this entry on Clothes Line Finds.

360Fashion catches up with Marissa Mayer from Google Search talking about how important fashion is in her role as a tech icon, in search technology, and in attracting women into technology.

• Chrome is out of beta
• Searchwiki "on" is likely to remain the default option. It's more about personalisation than another part of PageRank, but if tens of thousands of people downrank a result...
• Video search is a challenge. Two likely routes: speech to text and face recognition. Speech to text is more advanced, and we might see it next year
• Time-based searching is another thing we're likely to see in the default search next year.

Desktop. Laptop. Pocket: The era of the personal Internet dawns with the Nokia N97

Tilting touch display, QWERTY keyboard and personalized home screen - a true mobile computer

Barcelona, Spain - Nokia today unveiled the Nokia N97, promising to transform the way people connect to the Internet and to each other. Designed for the needs of Internet- savvy consumers, the Nokia N97 combines a large 3.5" touch display with a full QWERTY keyboard, providing an 'always open' window to favorite social networking sites and Internet destinations. Nokia's flagship Nseries device introduces leading technology - including multiple sensors, memory, processing power and connection speeds - for people to create a personal Internet and share their 'social location.' Watch the video here.

Hailed as the ultimate social networking device, Nokia launches the N97 in black and white. The device has several features that make it appealing to the fashion bloggers:

--Large touch screen with svivle capabilities

--Robust design using titanium it can fall our of your bag several times

--Hinge to querty keyboard for browsing your favorite fashion news and eating a croissont at the same time

--Colors are White and Black

--Facebook application, Google application, Widgets for weather and RSS feed reading, and People Slots

Tonight, I was out to play at the Nokia Trends Lab at the Showcase, under the Alexandre III bridge in Paris. Here's a little preview of the pictures I took: Chairlift, Uffie and Santogold.

I had a great spot on the sidelines and there were many fun things to do while the concert was going on (being the star of a fake magazine cover, getting my cellphone engraved...) but that's a tale for another day!

Also published on Mademoiselle à Paris

Estee Lauder has announced the introduction of a new free Gift Time SMS Text Reminder service which allows customers to sign up to receive text messages to alert them that Gift Time (Est e Lauder's Gift with Purchase offer) is starting at their chosen store.