Google Glass Graces the Runway at New York Fashion Week

September 9, 2012

 

A model wearing Google Glass backstage at Diane von Furstenberg’s show in Lincoln Center.

Google Glass and Google co-founder Sergey Brin made a surprise appearance at New York Fashion WeekSunday afternoon.

Models walked down the runway at Diane von Furstenberg’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection show wearing Glass, the upcoming headset/eyewear device that Google is developing. The augmented reality-enhanced glasses have many smartphone-like functions: users can take pictures, record video, receive messages and check calendars, among other things.

The bands of each pair were modified to complement the collection’s palette of corals, blues, whites and grays. It was the first time Glass had ever appeared on a runway.

Models recorded video using Google Glass, which will be compiled into a short film.

At least one model turned on Glass’s video-recording function to capture her view of the runway (see above). Furstenberg and other members of DVF’s team also donned glasses during show preparations. That footage will be released in a short film, “DVF through Glass,” on DVF’s Google+ page Thursday, a DVF spokesperson said.

At the show’s conclusion, a Glass-clad Fustenberg and Yvan Mispelaere, creative director of DVF, took a celebratory lap down the runway. Halfway down the left aisle, Furstenberg reached over to Sergey Brin, who was sitting front row. He joined Furstenberg and Mispelaere for the rest of the walk amid wide applause.

A *slight* waiting game by Apple Re: #RFID technology

The Wall Street Journal profiles Apple's "go-slow" approach to mobile payments. In June, Apple announced the inclusion of a feature called Passbook to iOS 6. Passbook allows users to keep loyalty cards, tickets and coupons in one central app. Passbook, however, does not offer a full payment system which has been a rumored area of research for Apple. 


The Wall Street Journal reveals that this is a very deliberate decision from Apple:

Holding back in mobile payments was a deliberate strategy, the result of deep discussion last year. Some Apple engineers argued for a more-aggressive approach that would integrate payments more directly. 

But Apple executives chose the go-slow approach for now. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the decision-making process. Apple's head of world-wide marketing, Phil Schiller, in an interview last month, said that digital-wallet mobile-payment services are "all fighting over their piece of the pie, and we aren't doing that."

According to the Wall Street Journal's sources, a small group within Apple was reported to have been investigating a new service that would embed payment methods into the iPhone or even build a new payment network. Discussions reportedly included Apple facilitating payments with merchants and even all the way to the possibility of Apple to begin acting as a bank. Apple also considered simpler wallet app possibilities or working with existing middlemen and taking a small cut of each transaction. 

Meanwhile, the Apple iPhone team had indeed explored NFC communications options in the next iPhone. Various concerns included impact on battery life, security, vendor adoption and customer satisfaction. 

Ultimately, Passbook is said to be the current compromise while Apple presumably waits to see how the mobile payment market matures.