Monday, February 24, 2014

A Framework for Wearable Technology


Beauty
If we’re asking people to wear technology, it has to be beautiful. What we wear is a reflection of who we are and who we aspire to be. It becomes an expression of ourselves and allows us to communicate the things that we care about and what we believe in. We use our clothing as an outlet to express ourselves and communicate who we are and what we believe in through the things that we wear.
We strive to create beautiful products and services that combine classic forms and materials, that pay attention to the details and craftsmanship, and that are authentic to the brand. We do this to create products and services that are more expressive that people want to wear, as opposed to have to wear.
Meaning
Not only do our wearables have to be beautiful, but they have to be useful. They have to  make our experiences more meaningful and add value to our lives whether its solving an immediate need or simply adding delight. We strive to add meaning by making information not only glanceable, but action able too.
Periphery
Much like how the iPhone brought multitouch and direct manipulation to the masses that allowed our technology to feel much more natural and fluid, wearables mark the beginning of a technology paradigm shift that uses our senses to communicate to us ambiently so that our information and services that we interact with become less obtrusive and feel more natural in context to where we are and what we’re doing.

At Bottega Veneta, Juxtaposition of Colour And a Study in Movement


Thomas Maier’s energetic juxtaposition of colour had great graphic effect, underlining the inherent movement of his fabrics. This was a self-assured collection, poised and completely at ease with its position of strength, writes Jessica Michault for Nowfashion.com
MILAN, Italy — All the working women who attended the Bottega Veneta show on Saturday morning must have been sighing in delight, as they watched designer Tomas Maier’s collection unfold. This collection was for them. It embraced femininity and functionality in a way that was both mature and measured in its use of asymmetrical geometric patterns.
Maier has been on quite an intense exploration of textile manipulation over the past few seasons, but with this show that path took a bit of a back seat. In its stead the designer used an energetic juxtaposition of colour for a great graphic effect. Smartly incorporating it to underline the inherent movement of his fabrics when the models were in motion, meaning that all of the dresses and skirt/sweater combos (there was not a pair of trousers to be seen) had very precise and tailored construction at their core. This could have come off as slightly severe if not for Maier’s inclusion of those geometric motifs.
The best example of this insightful concept was in the pleat work of his skirts. The designer employed a contrasting colour (often black) that would only break through as the models walked the runway. Also strong were the abstract leather shapes he inserted into the bodice of a dress, and the way Maier brought the familiar play between matte and shine fabrics to a new level, by layering in a textural element onto just the satin.
When the designer began the cocktail dress phase of his collection he transformed the linear look of his daywear into a more dramatic plisse interpretation. The shift gave his patterns a three-dimensionality, that reinterpreted his study of movement in a new and equally energetic way.
This was a self-assured collection by Maier. Poised and completely at ease with its position of strength. Much like the sophisticated women who were sitting in his front row.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Photos Of Nude Dancers Show A Very Different Side Of The Human Body (NSFW)


There is no denying the natural beauty of a dancer's body.
Like finely tuned mechanisms programmed to seamlessly bend, twist and twirl, the contortionists' bodies taken on positions that may not be innately appealing. Neatly stacked flaps of skin overlap, toes curl as the muscles of a leg bulge and limbs protrude forward in ways we didn't think possible, yet these feats of flexibility amount to something inexplicably gorgeous.
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Need proof? Take then, for example, Ludovic Florent's series "Poussières d’étoiles" (Stardust). In it, the French photographer captures the fluid movements of nude dancers, their bodies partially covered by clouds of dust that both obscure and accentuate the curves and lines of their muscles. The images provide a very different perspective of the human body, emphasizing the dynamic potential of bare forms.
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"Every carnal envelope hides a soul that is both sensitive and flamboyant," Florent writes on his website. "I try to capture [that] in each of my photographs."
Scroll through a preview of Florent's series here and let us know your thoughts on the works in the comments.
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