Hasta La Gadget!

Since UNIQLO may well be the most web-savvy retailer around (see UniQlock, Uniqlo Calendar and Uniqlo Tunes), it might come as a surprise to some readers to hear that they JUST started Twitter and Mixi accounts for the first time on November 20.

Why so late to the grassroots level of social networking? While they were making innovative Flash sites (see their Premium Downs site!) and popular widgets, they didn’t get involved in any of the networks themselves, instead relying on the viral quality of their content to spread itself. Judging by how many UNIQLO pieces we’ve done on this site alone, that was a pretty good tactic at the time.

What made them change their mind and jump into the fray? One side must be a reluctance to jump onto passing fads and expend energy on them. That’s a lot to keep up on, even for a big brand, and doing it poorly could have worse effects than not doing it at all. Either way, in the time it took for us to post this piece, the UNIQLO Twitter account gained 3,000 followers.

In general, we’ve found the whole LED dress craze to be kind of a snoozer — after all, the results are usually pretty tacky, in our opinions. It seems, however, that all that has just changed — with the introduction of Cute Circuit‘s Galaxy Dress, which is made of silk and has 24,000 LEDs measuring just 2 by 2-millimeters each embroidered onto its surface. As you can see from the photograph, the dress is also quite classic and beautiful — not your usual raver’s delight. To make the dress lighter and more flexible than your average light-enhanced couture, the designers used layers of organza crinoline and silk chiffon, and they power the dress with many small iPod batteries, which are light and easily hidden in the dress. The Galaxy Dress is currently on exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago — but you can check it out for yourself in the video after the break.

[Via Wired]

Continue reading Dress lit up with 24,000 LEDs, perfect for your next formal rave

Filed under: Wearables

Dress lit up with 24,000 LEDs, perfect for your next formal rave originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japanese marketing has long had the concept of おまけ (”o-ma-ke”), a small extra or incentive for the consumer. Typically this free gift has been a small toy or item that came along with a purchase, common with drinks products. We recently blogged about the free Mario models that came with some Boss canned coffee.

As fashion magazines face falling readerships they are turning to the “omake” as their new weapon to generate sales. No longer is an “omake” just a small extra thing; now consumers get brand items for the price of the magazine. Kitson and Emilio Pucci are just some of the major brands being given away with every issue.

One magazine in particular, Sweet, has seen its circulation soar to 700k and become the biggest selling fashion title mainly due to its successful and aggressive brand “omake” policy. Putting aside the cost of giving away a brand item to every reader every month, what is interesting is how Sweet has acquired new consumers by offering such incentives that they want to buy the magazine just for the brand product. Ultimately, the “omake”, the extra bit, is the magazine itself!

We have previously reported on similar trends with tobacco in Japan and some of the unusual corporate co-branding happening in that industry. Consumers purchase the packet of cigarettes and get not just a free practical item like a lighter, but they sometimes also receive real brand products. The collaborations with Lark and Dress Camp back in 2007 were particularly impressive, and the more recent tie-up with woman’s tobacco Virginia Slims and Gamble Fish worked well.

This partnership between famous brands and major magazines is a logical development of the “omake” trend in the fashion industry, one that is showing no signs of abating. Every Japanese convenience store’s magazine rack is lined with titles wrapped in the distinctive binding that keeps the bag or accessory tightly in place between the pages, upon purchasing ready to be extracted by the content consumer.

What type of product will be next to adopt the brand “omake” weapon?

You know, if it weren’t so early in the morning, we might just think Samsung’s latest Armani slider (more formally known as the SPH-W8200) was a gilded Instinct HD with a pull-down number pad. We’re going to do our best to pretend there’s really something more here, starting with the fact that the Giorgio Armani logo beneath the screen is probably worth more than half of our belongings… at least according to Craigslist. At any rate, the first glimpse at this here phone’s specifications has finally emerged, and while some tidbits are still up in the air, we do know that it’ll arrive with a 3.1-inch AMOLED touchscreen, a DMB TV tuner, 5 megapixel camera, HSDPA, Bluetooth and a microSD expansion slot. Too bad the price will inevitably overshadow all of that, but hey, fashion ain’t cheap — ya heard?

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung Armani specifications and press shots emerge: mmm, luscious originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aside from not having much of a lawn (if any) to play in, Japanese pets must be the most spoiled in the world. Well, they’re at least the best-dressed. Examples of pet luxury abound in Japan, from fashion-conscious outfits to oxygen cafes and doghouses. of course, it’s the costumes that make a cute dog on parade in Tokyo, regardless of size.

Kinda feel bad for the cat though. While the cats at our house roll around in the backyard and go in and out (bringing in live cicadas at 4am), the cat above likely spends his time in a tiny 38th floor apartment wearing a Mr. Rogers sweater.

Last year we were doing a research project for a European pet store chain, and spent a lot of time in pet stores and at events like the Pet Haku expo at Makuhari Messe where lots of vendors come to sell their pet-related good directly to consumers. Not only was there a big pet fashion show judged by celebrities, but the sheer number of shops and variety of outfits for pets could rival Shibuya 109.

This brings us to more practical (?) fashion for the pet owner.

With earthquakes, typhoons, and random nukes flying in from North Korea being on the minds of many, what can pets do to survive in the aftermath as they wander around ground zero?

The Pet Evacuation Jacket (shop link) comes with everything both pets and humans need for emergency survival, and is fireproof to boot. Just be sure to show your pet how to put it on in case of emergency, or you may find yourself busy getting him strapped in when you should be RUNNING FOR YOUR LIFE.

Some pet shops even feature pet delis complete with premium biscuits, “desserts”, and beer/wine for dogs with names like Wan Wan Sparkling and Happy Lager.

It makes one wonder how many people actually buy these premium items for their pets, but I’ve seen entire racks of “premium biscuits from Hokkaido” that cost more than the snacks I buy for myself, so they must be moving some of it. We have a feeling that the deli section is more branding than anything, giving pet owners a price level to aspire to and showing that no matter what they get for their pets it’s never good enough. That, and it makes the Hokkaido biscuits look a heck of a lot cheaper.