Rachel Arthur
Project Runway judge and Marie Claire creative director, Nina Garcia, has just announced she will be wearing Google Glass at New York Fashion Week this September.
#BeNina, as the initiative is being called, will see photos and videos taken using the device beamed across both her personal and Marie Claire’s social media outlets, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Vine, as well as the magazine’s website.
It’s a bit of an interesting change of heart from the editor who only a few months ago somewhat screwed her nose up at the idea of wearable technology.
Speaking at SXSW, Garcia – who has over 800,000 followers on Twitter and 55,000 on Instagram – was asked whether wearables were for the “kingdom of nerds” or a sign of where fashion is going.
“If you can get Tom Ford to design [Google Glass],” she said, “I might wear them. But until then…”
Well, Ford isn’t on board. And those rumours about Warby Parker are still not confirmed. Google Glass definitely doesn’t look as fashion-forward as one like Garcia might hope, but it seems that’s no longer deterring her.
Reports state she doesn’t have a formal relationship with Google on this project – though the video below does show her in the internet giant’s offices – but there’s no denying Google will hope to benefit from this. NYFW has of course previously played host to the device with Diane von Furstenberg’s show last September.
“What I find fascinating is that this may be the beginning of a technology that changes how we interact and how we process and gather information,” said Garcia.
“Usually I have lots of devices during fashion week. Google Glass Expedition is controlled by your voice or a tap of your finger. It’s a very different device than the iPhone. It’s like wearing a little computer. It’s a hands-free experience which is kind of liberating. I can go to a show and just be and not be looking down at my iPhone all the time.”