Fashion is a tricky art to master. Styles, fabrics, colours — each of these elements of the well-dressed executive can change indiscriminately, leaving you looking tacky before you can say “fashion emergency.”
CIOs are not known for their fashion sense. Quite the opposite, in fact. The perception of the IT top dog as stylistically inept spawns from age-old images of tech nerds with pocket protectors and high-riding pants. But, as with many things, technology has woven itself into the very fabric of tomorrow’s fashions. And who better to make wearable technology chic than CIOs, the bellwethers of corporate tech trends? Here are a few garments that mingle hipness with technological ingenuity.
The TEC Sport Jacket by ScotteVest Inc. looks like your every-day blue, three-button blazer. But this snappy version of the wardrobe stalwart comes equipped with 14 pockets, each in sync with the next via a Personal Area Network. Every gadget in your repertoire has a pocket to fit in, including your laptop. A series of slots around the collar allow the wearer to fasten headphones around the neck for easy listening during downtime.
It used to be that your body had an odor all its own. But with state-of-the-art aroma technology by ScentOrgan, your dress will decide the sweet smells you emit. Using a network of tubing and a heart-mimicking pump, the ScentOrgan dress acts as an artificial gland and sprays scents along the body where it’s needed most. The fragrant sprays are engineered to stimulate a sense of well-being for the wearer — not to mention pleasant scents for passers-by.
Hard pressed to find an iron before the big meeting? Corpo Nova manufactures shirts woven with titanium that react to a rise in temperature and literally press themselves. The shirt will hold its form when bunched up, and flatten out when hit with a blast of hot air.
Simply expose the shirt to a hair dryer or a warm summer breeze, and the ironing will be done for you.
They say you can tell a lot about a person by his shoes. With your new Adidas smart shoes, people will suspect you’re a genius. A computer chip housed within each sneaker modifies the fit of your footwear so you always have the perfect running shoe. Located in the arch of the smart shoe, a 40-gram microprocessor interprets signals sent from magnets and sensors throughout the shoe. The chip activates a compact motor unit that adjusts the heel cushion on the fly, supposedly giving your feet perfect support with every step. 046846