FLIRTing with the Crowds

 So Apple’s patent application aimed to battle sneaker hackers with a kind of ‘DRM for garments’ is spurring some controversy. Many, including Nicholas Carr, are worried that the activity of a few sneaker geeks is inflicting an overt response from big companies aiming at DRMing everything from your sneakers to your soul. Together with Apple’s other endeavors to curb personal freedom, Nick Carr says it’s no longer cool to be an Apple fanboy.

Garment technology is indeed the talk of the day otherwise as well. The Beijing Olympics saw an elevated discussion about garment and equipment technology giving certain athletes an unfair advantage over ones from other countries that didn’t have access to the technology in time for the Olympics. My take on this is simple: if it doesn’t jeopardise the athlete’s health, it’s perfectly viable to use as a booster for performance - indeed, some people’s genetics give them ‘unfair’ advantage over others too, and they’re still not banned from competing.

Yet another development creating a buzz within the industry is the use of latest technology in camouflage, a topic which The Economist well covers in their latest Technology Quarterly. While using Light Emitting Diodes and a miniature camera to change the surface coloring of the garment according to one’s surroundings might still sound a bit clumsy, some believe we’re starting to see active camo in field use within just a couple of years.

I used to work at H&M in the beginning of my studies. Maybe I should get back there, the fashion industry sounds interesting…