San Francisco, CA - Most people say that there’s no real fashion in San Francisco. However, I disagree. I have been participating in some “Prepare for the Playa” popup stores where the top festival fashion brands Sell to the Burningman crowd.
What I have come to notice is that these brands are very high quality and their clothing is made to withstand the 5 days of intense fun on the Playa in a big way, making them very high quality. Festival goers have no patience when paying top dollar for a unique brand for it to fall apart.
I noticed that the beautiful coats, the apocalyptic A-line outfits, the sparkling flip sequence are all made to not leave a trace after the Burningman principals.
Many of the costumes are so well thought out and unique that one could consider them couture in the sense that they are custom made designs and one of a kind pieces.
There seems to be two styles:
Hippy fringe items after Mad Max meets Peru, and techno light up wear that meets the dreams of anyone right out of BladeRunner.
there are also the Steampunkers and the Cirque de Soleil fire twirling entertainers, but they will be outnumbered this year with the iRobot concept that is the theme.
its why our chokers and bracelets are selling so well. They fit into every design style. They fit women and men and they light up the night.
this August 11th marks the final big sale we are participating in with Beyond the Fence, a curated popup store lead by Tamo for the last 12 years. If you are in San Francisco don’t miss it. You will find the coolest underground high quality brands.
Mine of them being 360Fashion Network x Ledpulse Chokers and Bracelets!
I was invited to be a part of a Hacker Camp called SHA2017 which happens only every 4 years in Holland. I was invited to be a part of the Belgium Embassy / Hardware Hacking area by Mitch Altman. I met Mitch in his trip to Beijing setting up the iCenter hacker space at Tsinghua University and we got a fashion tech ardruino class going.
Mitch invited me to come and teach about etextiles and do workshops with the #LEDRibbon. He said that I should branch out into the maker scène. Indeed, it was the best experience ever and I met a community of people really open and highly intelligent! I could talk to anyone about technology.
The thing I also really enjoyed is how very experienced engineers also took the time in their day to come to my workshop to pimp their tshirt, and also see what I was doing and offer more advice, help, and teach me. I got real knowledge and I got solid foundation in some key areas such as PCB design.
I can't say the camping part was successful, as I got hypothermia on the first day and suffered from a terrible cold for the full 5 days, but the knowledge and exchange with people was with the suffering.
Everywhere I went people I met enjoyed my perspective on security, fashion, and technology. We brainstormed about how to create encrypted jewelry, secure communications, and my most recent topic: hacking cars.
on the flash talks my friend encouraged me to get up on stage and give a speech about fashion tech.
You can watch my flas talk here but bear in mind it was on a camping and I was really sick! FAs Forward the video to -13:45 sec Watch here.
Berlin, Germany - PRESS: Page-Online.de have given everyone a sneak peek at our upcoming launch with ROMASTER: The Qi Suit made with the 360Fash Tech "Gesture" Kit.
The Qi Suit was a particularly challenging creation because of the obstacles we needed to overcome in order to create this incredibly tailored suit by Master Li - the Golden Scissors award winning tailor who recently died, with my work with him as his last great living legacy on this earth. Although I could not speak a single word with Master Li, we had another way to communicate that transcended language: we had the language of innovation.
The main obstacle to this project was TIME. We only had 45 Days to complete this project and then launch it at Intel Developer Conference in Shenzhen May 13th, 2016. The second most prominent obstacle was CULTURE & LANGUAGE. The third most difficult obstacle was TECHNOLOGY.
TIME
With only 45 days to complete the project for the Intel Developer Conference 2016, we worked 45 days straight with very long hours up to 2:00AM the next day. We had to figure out the parts, order the parts, test the parts, and then build the LED patterns. Lack of sleep is not a good thing for a team because it leads to short tempers and not clear thinking. Some days we just had to roll up our sleeves and drink a lot of black tea.
CULTURE & LANGUAGE
With the whole team of 10 people speaking Chinese, I found myself challenged with only translation to help me explain and communicate how to execute the project. We had to revert to a lot of diagrams, and twice I had to pull in my friends who just for their kindness came in and solved the problems late at night. Also in using online project management software, the fashion team had no VPN's and were not able to follow the project in a "modern" way. The engineering team often did not get the whole specifications translated and thus we had mistakes that we had to re-do and would lose time. In these situations it is extremely important to be professional and to put your nose to the grindstone and not give up. To be flexible and willing to give up something but also to go back and re-do, including things that may have been lost in translation. #NeverNeverNeverGiveUp
TECHNOLOGY
Currently there are a lot of LEDs out there and we had to make quick decisions on what type we were going to sew into the suit. We made several tests and in the end forgot about LED Strips because it would be prone to fail on the weakest points: the soldering joints at the end of the strips. Flexible LED boards that we cut were too hard and would be extremely uncomfortable for the wearer. The final test, and ultimate choice were the LEDs in shapes on boards. This allowed us to create a poetic pattern, but had big enough holes on the back for us to solder them together with insulated thread.
Stay tuned for more of this epic story and the launch!
Frankfurt, Germany - SEPTEMBER 23RD - In my mission to empower fashion designers with good technology, I've decided to sponsor the Frankfurt Style Awards with our 360Fash Tech "Solar Bag" Kit and LED Ribbons. I love that the solar panels are flexible crystalline and 22.9% efficient - the highest efficiency that I have seen in the world. I really want to see what a fashion designer can create with this kit that charges a phone.
The Frankfurt Style Awards are unique because they bring together over 500 schools across Germany to showcase their vision of the future:
"The TOP60 fashion designer of tomorrow are presenting their unique designs in an world premiere. This year the partner country China is in our spotlight. Join us when we clear the stage for the FRANKfurtstyleaward 2016, showcasing a glamorous fashion show and Gala in the Alte Oper in Frankfurt on September 23rd , with a jubilant award ceremony, Chinese show acts, an amazing vocal artist, after show party und many more cultural highlights!"
If you are in Frankfurt and attending the Gala event, we will have a creative space where you can see several of the products made with our technology and meet our local team from International Designers Network.
Part of why I was really interested in this sponsorship with the Frankfurt Style Awards is because our team could reach out to 500 schools and show them how our kits can be used as a tool to teach their students integration and design with wearable computing. With minimal knowledge the fashion teachers can bring electronics into their classrooms with step by step instructions and support. It's really important that the next generation designers have the skills needed to approach the hyper-connected world we are moving into.
In the period from 26 August to 19 September all fashion enthusiasts may enjoy voting on line. On the Facebook page of Frankfurt Style Award you can click through the gallery of finalists and vote by a "Like" for his favorites. The three designs with the most "likes" are nominated for the Public Choice Award. Then on the evening gala on 23 September at the Alte Oper Frankfurt the audience will applaud the winner Frankfurt Style Award and he/she will receive a 360Fash Tech Prize!
After that, and with their new solar powered designs, the new creations will be showcased in the Shanghai during Shanghai Fashion Week 2016.
Ever wonder what it is that I am doing in China all this time? Well, here's your chance to see it. CRI Radio followed me around during our 3D Festival rampup and you get to see me building the robotic dress, talking about fashion and tech, and executing the 3D Festival exhibition. It's pretty go-go-go and at the same time it's pretty much fun. It is certainly not easy, but in the world where we get to choose what we want to do, I am following my passion.
The Mayor of Beijing came to visit the 3D Festival exhibition during Beijing Design Week 2013. He enjoyed to see all the 3D Printers and told us that he knows a lot about 3D technology because he used to work with autocad and other 3D programs for architecture!
Anina demonstrates Nokia City Lens Augmented Reality app to Beijing Design Week Director. Talking about smart cities, and tools that can be used, location based Augmented Reality is an excellent solution!
People love Anina 3D... they get such a wow effect when they take photos! Upload yourself into 3D! Join our 3D Festival @北京国际设计周 @751时尚资讯网 @卢刚 http://yoopay.cn/event/3DFestival2013 @aninanet
I recently have been turned on to an organization that is creating change for women by opposing the sexism that appears on the internet. My eyes were made open to this by my friend YingYing who is an active feminist and remains feminine. I didnt really know that I also shared these feelings because I am often the paun in front of the camera doing whatever the photographer is asking me to do.
Recently I was appauled by the GO DADDY television commercials and embarrassed to say that I host my main domains with Go Daddy even though they have often made mistakes and made me loose domains due to messups on their system, like the one that drove my lost domain price up to 10,000 dollars (thank you go daddy) due to a "glitch" in their system that made me compete against myself with out to notify me. How can I keep my domains hosted at Go Daddy when they clearly demean and damage the image of women? It's complicated to move the domains to another host, but I shall indeed take the time to do it because I can clearly see that Go Daddy think that as a woman, I"m useless in technology because we have CARL, actually keeps everything running. That may be true for Go Daddy, but it's not true for my friend Heather Hobson who is one of the most talented network engeneers in the world (my statement) and keeps the T1 lines up on Times Square running day and night. I'd love to hear her opinion of the Go Daddy commercials.
Poor Charlene...I wish you would study computer science instead of just petting that otter and sending senators into early retirement. What about Selina? SHE gets all the attention and Wayne pays attention.
After seeing this movement "MISS REPRESENTATION" I cant help but feel responsable in part as a fashion model. Although I dont design the campaigns, nor shoot them, I am responsable for my actions in front of the camera. I admit it. I fall into the trap of playing the SEXY woman because that's what is required of me. The photograher says "More Sexy, Anina. Open your lips." and I do it. The other day on a shooting I suddenly becamse aware of myself kneeling and gripping the male model's leg...or caressing his hand with a fake kiss as he towered over me. Sure, I'm not really a SEXY girl--I'm like a high class power woman style, and yet, those power women in fashion seem to be dominatrix style characters who controll everything and are super smart with billions in the bank (how did they get them? Marry rich in the inference). I also can totally understand the model who plays the role of Charlene or Selina, because what they really are thinking (and I have thought it too!) is that the advertsing TVC residuals are going to be big and in her pocket!
At one point I'm becoming a brand--Anina.net--standing for women and technology, and I still work as a model (when they call with $$ in their hand why should I say no as a young entrepreneur) which I find a nice break from computers and business (contracts sometimes do my head in!). At which point do I become more concious of what I'm projecting in the media. If you have seen my most recent photoshoots, in Agenda Magazine, and this month's LIfestyle Magazine, you will see the type of images that I am making (literally putting the concept together and the photoshoot together with the photographer) they are projecting a positive self image for women and technology. Only by seizing the controll myself, can I controll the image. When I"m working for a client, I am at the beck and call of the brand.
About Being Sexy. Yes, every girl (woman) wants to be considered attractive and for centuries we have dressed up, sung, needlepointed our way to show our talents like in the modern day talent competitions (can you tell I recently watched Marie Antoinette) in order to raise ourselves out of the economic crisis by "selling" ourselves to men. Most of the time I operate my energy levels as neuter central--not male or female--I'm just me. I dont think about what gendor I am because I"m focused on other things. When it comes to an event, suddenly I have to dress up and perform to people and then I'm made more aware that I am feminine against the masculine people I meet. It's a balance--but how to find the middle between being sexy/powerful/adored/admired and portraying a positive self image for women? What is the positive self image for women? Is it a neuter central or non-feminist way? Is it a no-sexy zone? What is it?