Wired for Wear
In case you have not noticed, there’s a big phenomenon developing around Internetbased music and a tiny handheld gadget that is reaching right into the world of fashion.
The new iPod from Apple Computer Inc. is at the center of this Gen X and Gen Y explosion. This device does not only look cool and work as an integrated function of a Webbased lifestyle— it is also spawning a bunch of related cool things to wear. Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs recently estimated there may be as many as 200 separate accessories available for the more than 3 million iPods that have been sold to date.
Finally, Apple is catching up with the unanticipated demand for its new iPod 3.6-inch “mini” model, which is smaller and even more stylish than the original 4.1-inch model introduced last year. Angry teens have been seen on a daily basis at the Apple store in Pasadena, Calif., pleading for the mini-iPods they backordered weeks ago. At last, the new iPods— which are PC- and Mac-compatible and come in five cool colors—are trickling in from assembly in China. Apple is postponing European distribution of the mini-model until later this year while the company fulfills the surging backorders that its media blitz caused earlier this year.
And entire new cottage industries in accessories and clothing are developing as fast as you can download any of the thousands of current hit singles from Apple’s iTunes Web site (www.apple.com/itunes). Apple iPod accessories—including stylish wristbands, waistbands, belts and more—are spawning at a dizzying rate and appear to be outpacing cell phone fashion add-ons.
Hollywood, Fla.–based Marware Inc. (www.marware.com) offers a snappy line that features the Mini SportSuit Safari, which can be worn on a belt or with the included lanyard. It’s available for $19.95 in soft, padded faux leopard or giraffe prints, as well as in flamingo pink, panther black and polar bear white. And Fort Lauderdale, Fla.–based Xtreme Accessories LLC (www.xtrememac.com) has just introduced its neoprene SportWrap iPod armband ($29.95) for jogging, biking and working out.
A rechargeable battery that lasts for about seven hours powers the iPods. Users can recharge the battery with the small AC adapter included with the unit or—for the all-day urban traveler or outdoor adventurer—through a new garment with flexible solar panels integrated into the shoulders.
The Solar SCOTTeVEST jacket from Ketchum, Idaho–based SCOTTeVEST LLC is designed to charge small appliances—including cell phones, PDAs and MP3 players—using the latest solar technology. The garment, which debuted at the March edition of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association’s Fashion in Motion runway show in Atlanta, joins a full clothing line accommodating personal high-tech devices.
Through a partnership involving SCOTTeVEST, Global Solar Energy Inc. of Tuscon, Ariz., and ICP Solar Technologies Inc. of Montreal, a limited number of jackets, priced at $475, will be available in the coming months at www.scottevest.com.
SCOTTeVEST also expects to assist ICP in bringing solar technology to other mainstream outerwear clothing products using the patent-pending P.A.N. (Personal Area Network) design.
“We are constantly seeking solutions to build state-of-the-art wearable technology,” said Scott Jordan, chairman and chief executive officer of SCOTTeVEST. “We believe that this project represents the next logical step in consumer-wearable computers. We expect solar panels, together with the P.A.N., to be incorporated into approximately 30 percent of all outerwear in the next three to five years.”
Dozens of Web sites—in addition to Apple’s www.apple.com/ipod site—now sell iPod accessories, but the Think Different Store (www.thinkdifferentstore.com) stands out from the crowd. The home page immediately hits you with 15 colorful, compelling and reasonably priced iPod accessories. There’s no fooling around. You seem to skip the question of “Am I going to buy?” and jump right into “Which one am I going to buy?” The site features well-developed product reviews accompanied by enlargeable product images and flows logically from iPod-specific offerings to other personalcomputer accoutrements.
