Tech as fashion

You may never have thought of the iPod as "wearable technology" exactly, but others do, according to New Scientist:

Can you imagine putting your address book and photo album on in the morning along with your socks? Or how about using a "3D printer" to make your own shoes on demand? How about clothes peppered with plastic LEDs that let you change the fabric's pattern at will? These are just some of the bizarre predictions coming from an unlikely research partnership between the London College of Fashion (LCF), based in London's übertrendy Soho district, and the staid UK telecoms firm BT.

The stupendous success of the Apple iPod has proved that technology can also be fashionable. So the race is on to bring iPod-like ease of use and compelling functionality to the clothes we wear, says Sandy Black, a fashion researcher at LCF.