谷歌和Levi’s合作的智能牛仔裝會紅嗎
Standing in Levi’ssweaty atelier, where the jeans maker experiments with new designs, just blocksfrom the San Francisco Bay, Paul Dillinger pulls on a new denim jacket. Createdfor cyclists, it has a drop-back tail, so your back isn’t left exposed; stormcuffs, to stop air blowing up your sleeves; and, unexpectedly, thetechnological equivalent of a magic wand.
保羅.狄林格(Paul Dillinger)站在牛仔裝生產商李維斯(Levi’s)異常悶熱的新裝試驗室裏，正在試穿一件牛仔夾克新樣裝。這件牛仔裝專爲自行車運動員打造：防止參賽車手露出後背的圓尾形後襬(drop-back tail)以及防止竄風的防風式袖口，這款牛仔夾克猶如從天而降的魔杖，無所不能。
“What spells would you like to casttoday? he laughs, tapping on his left arm, where sensors have been woven intothe fabric and a colour-changing light is snapped on to the cuff.
看看這件新裝今天能施展什麼魔法？他敲擊着左胳膊笑問道，傳感器縫進了牛仔面料中，變幻顏色的光束照射到了衣服袖口處。
The sleeve isenchanted: inside is technology that can help cyclists do everything fromanswer phone calls to avoid getting lost.
袖口也如同被施了魔法：內置的高科技能讓車手實現從接聽電話到查詢方位的各項功能。
Cyclists can usetheir smartphone to set up the jacket so it recognises favourite callers.
車手可以用自己的智能手機對夾克進行設置，夾克就能識別出車手最常用的電話聯繫人；通過谷歌地圖(Google Maps)提供的具體方位信息，
They can then tapor swipe their sleeve to send a text saying what time they are likely to arrivehome — drawn from data on their location via Google Maps.
車手可以輕擊或重擊袖口來發送大約何時到家的短信。
The jacket — dueout in spring 2017 — is part of a new generation of wearables aiming to maketechnology fashionable.
這款夾克預定2017年春季推出，它屬於新一代科技時尚化的可穿戴產品。
Fashion has beenexperimenting with technology in high profile one-off garments for a while.
時尚界曾經在知名品牌的一次性服裝上試驗高科技，但無法實現大規模市場化應用。
But it has not yetbrought that technology to a larger market. People were wowed by the Marchesadress — developed with IBM’s artificial intelligence system, Watson — thatchanged colour when people tweeted, which Karolina Kurkova wore to the Met Galathis year.
IBM使用Watson人工智能系統設計的瑪切薩(Marchesa)裙子讓時尚擁躉如癡如醉，它能根據Twitter用戶的情緒變化實時變換顏色，超模卡羅萊娜.庫科娃(Karolina Kurkova)穿着它參加了今年的紐約大都會博物館慈善晚會(Met Gala)。
Make Fashion, agroup of Canadian artists and engineers, have spent five years creating playfuldesigns such as Gamer Girls dresses — where the dress changes depending onwhether they win or lose.
由加拿大一些藝術家與工程師組成的團隊Make Fashion花了五年時間設計Gamer Girls這類妙趣橫生的女裙——它能根據輸贏結果變換顏色。
But thus farwidespread uptake of such technologies has been slow.
但迄今爲止，對此類高科技時裝的市場認同度仍然相當低。
Even technologycompanies led by Apple, the most design conscious in the industry, havefloundered in creating products that appeal beyond their geeky base.
即使是蘋果公司引領的高科技公司研發的產品，其影響力也仍然沒走出自家的創意工作室。
The Apple Watchoffers a wide range of straps, including a collection handmade by Hermesartisans in France.
蘋果手錶(Apple Watch)推出的錶帶樣式五花八門，其中就包括由愛馬仕(Hermes)設計師在法國手工打造的一個系列。
Now some fashionhouses are starting to form partnerships with technology companies to swapexpertise and fill in blind spots.
如今一些時尚品牌開始與科技類公司建立合作關係，以換取對方的專業技能，彌補自身盲區。
Tech manufacturersare teaching fashion companies about how to make chips and batteries thin,while fashion houses are teaching techies about the trials of making many sizesand ensuring a teched-up garment is Fit to launder.
科技類公司向時裝公司傳授製作小型芯片與電池的技術，而時裝公司則向對方傳授設計不同型號時裝以及確保高科技時裝耐洗的訣竅。
Chipmaker Intelhas worked with watchmakers Fossil and Tag Heuer and eyewear company Luxottica,while fitness-tracker maker Fitbit has teamed up with both Tory Burch andclothing company Public School.
芯片生產商英特爾(Intel)聯手Fossil、豪雅(TAG Heuer)等腕錶品牌以及全球最大的眼鏡公司Luxottica，而穿戴式健身追蹤器生產商Fitbit與湯麗柏琦(Tory Burch)以及時裝品牌Public School成了合作伙伴。
Earlier this monthduring New York Fashion Week Michael Kors announced its first foray intowearable tech.
九月初的紐約時裝週(New York Fashion Week)期間，邁克.科爾斯(Michael Kors)首次宣佈進軍高科技可穿戴設備領域。
In partnershipwith Google, the brand has unveiled a smart watch based on its bestsellinganalogue collection.
在自己最暢銷的analogue指針系列手錶基礎上，它與谷歌合作推出了一款智能腕錶。
The new Dylan andBradshaw models include features such as notification functions, maps, and avoice-directed Google search facility. It will retail for ￡329 — about ￡100more than the analogue version
最新推出的Dylan男表與Bradshaw女表擁有通知、地圖以及語音定向谷歌探索等功能，其零售價爲329英鎊，比analogue系列腕錶大約貴100英鎊。
For Sidney Chang,the principal of business development at Google, these collaborations are anessential part of the company’s future.
在谷歌業務開發部主管Sidney Chang看來，與時尚公司的合作對谷歌未來的發展至關重要。
We’re very nimble,he explained during the launch last week.
我們會伺機而動。
We’ve alreadypartnered with Fossil, Tag Heuer and Nixon on smartwatches, but each brandrepresents a different customer and a different set of criteria.
在不久前的新品發佈會上，他這樣說道，谷歌已與Fossil、豪雅以及Nixon合推了智能腕錶，但每個品牌又代表了各自不同的消費羣體與技術標準。
We love thediversity of working with different brands, and developing wearables thatreflect your identity.
我們喜歡與風格各異的不同品牌合作，研發反映品牌自身特色的可穿戴產品。
Of course, we havethe physics to enable these technologies, but we can’t bring the people, or theparty, or the associations.
當然，谷歌有科技產品化的雄厚實力，但沒有消費者、羣體或團體等人脈資源。
If Google Glasswas an excellent example of a great idea that looked tragically uncool, thesenew collaborations should go some way to bridging the gulf between function andfashionability.
如果說谷歌眼鏡是絕妙的想法開發成土裏土氣產品的典範，那麼高科技公司與時尚品牌的珠聯璧合或多或少彌補了功能與時尚之間的鴻溝。
Google gets accessto a younger, more image-focused market and all the benefits of a high-endmarketing campaign.
谷歌的受衆是那些形象至上的年輕人，也是高端營銷活動的最大受益者。
The fashion housegets to bring its brand to life in new ways, to a new audience. Everyone wins.
時尚公司實現了品牌的脫胎換骨，又增加了新的消費羣體，這對雙方來說是雙贏之舉。
Google was alsoLevis’ partner in developing the cycling jacket, bringing together Google’sAdvanced Technology and Projects team in Silicon Valley, with the brand’sin-house skunk works.
谷歌也是李維斯牛仔研發自行車手夾克外套的合作者，谷歌位於硅谷的前沿科技攻關小組與李維斯的研發團隊(skunk works)實現了珠聯璧合。
Dillinger, Levi’sglobal product innovation lead, says the partnership worked because Google camewilling to learn from Levi’s as much as the other way round. And there wereconsiderable challenges: the technology had to survive the aggressive testingconditions demanded of the denim before it gets into stores.
李維斯產品創新部全球主管狄林格說雙方的合作之所以成功，是因爲雙方都願意從對方身上取長補短，當然雙方的合作也面臨艱鉅挑戰：谷歌的高科技必須經受住牛仔裝投放市場前的嚴格測試。
We had the bestcapabilities of the two companies frankly, says Dillinger.
平心而論，我們實現了集雙方之優點於一身。
We are not verygood at technology and they are not very good at garments.
狄林格說，高科技並非我們的強項，而服裝也不是谷歌的強項。
Sandra Lopez,vice-president at Intel’s new technology group, has both skillsets: she studiedtextiles and clothes marketing, and then went on to work in tech, including atAdobe and Macromedia, before arriving at Intel.
英特爾新技術部副總裁桑德拉.洛佩茲(Sandra Lopez)則是兩者皆備：她的專業是紡織品服裝營銷，畢業後則在高科技公司工作，來英特爾之前，曾謀職於Adobe與全球最大的網絡多媒體軟件公司Macromedia。
Intel bringsretailers into its Silicon Valley office to discuss the challenges and has evenhad its own wearables shown at New York Fashion Week.
英特爾把零售商邀請至其硅谷總部，共同探討面臨的挑戰，它甚至把自己設計的穿戴設備在紐約時裝週上展出。
For example, itworked on the MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) designed by OpeningCeremony and launched in 2014.
比方說，它智能化了Opening Ceremony設計的MICA手鐲，並於2014年推出。
The chunkybracelet, with precious gems and Ayers snakeskin sends the user notificationsfrom SMS and social apps.
這串沉甸甸的手鐲用寶石與Ayers蛇皮裝飾，可接收短信及社交應用軟件的通知。
In the last yearand a half Lopez says she has begun to see real progress as more fashion housesare building their own research and development departments to examine how touse technology in their collections.
過去一年半里，隨着更多時尚公司自建高科技的研發部門，洛佩茲說自己就已看到切實進展。
Sometimes, shesays, the key is to strip down the technology to streamline a product, so itdoesn’t need as many buttons or as large a battery.
她說有時候最關鍵的是科技助力產品的小型化，這樣一來就實現了按鈕最少化與電池最小化。
Engineers like topush technological boundaries — bring in a bunch of features — that is theirmindset.
工程技術人員青睞於技術突破——那是他們的‘癖好’。
We see this whenwe are creating a product for a young woman, aged 18 to 35, and asking whatwould be relevant for her? Engineers want to add more tech for tech’s sake, buta designer with a customer-centric mindset thinks ‘what is really needed?’
爲18-35歲的年輕女人設計產品時，這種特性體現得一清二楚，這些產品與她們的關聯度到底有多大，很值得商榷。工程技術人員希望科技運用得多多益善，但設計師考慮的則是客戶是上帝的‘消費者需求至上’原則。
Designers are alsolearning from a set of data they never had before: information on how acustomer actually uses the product.
設計師還從之前從未掌握的數據中獲益，比如消費者使用產品的真實信息。
On the MICA,designers assumed their audience would prioritise the social notifications — infact wearers were using the fitness functions much more than expected.
在MICA智能腕錶上，設計師本認爲消費者會優先使用其社交通知功能，而事實上使用最多的卻是健身追蹤功能，這大大出乎設計師所料。
Those aha momentswere never possible before, once someone had left the store.
顧客過去從門店購完物離開後，那種頓悟時刻（aha moments，思考過程中一種特殊的、愉悅的體驗，期間會突然對之前並不明朗的某個局面產生深入的認識。）從未有之。
What does it meanfor merchandising strategy? Should design get sportier? Lopez asks.
科技對促銷策略意味着什麼？設計是否應該更加花哨些？洛佩茲這樣問道。
Fashion andtechnology are edging closer to a relationship that could produce more stylishwearables, but a future where every wardrobe needs its own chargers still looksa way off.
時尚與科技越發親密無間，造就了更爲時尚的可穿戴產品，但普通服裝實現科技化依然任重而道遠。
Carolina Milanesi,a consumer technology analyst at Silicon Valley market research firm CreativeStrategies, says the tech industry has failed to make wearables fashionableenough to expand beyond a niche of — often male — early adopters.
硅谷市場分析公司Creative Strategies消費科技分析師卡羅琳娜.米拉內西(CarolinaMilanesi)說，科技在實現可穿戴產品時尚化方面差強人意，接受者仍然僅限先期餞行者這一小撮人而已（通常爲男性）。
As a segment,technology doesn’t do gender differentiation very well so far.
作爲市場區隔（Segment，即把消費者依不同需求、特徵區分成若干個不同的羣體，而形成各個不同的消費羣）的一部分，科技迄今爲止，在性別差異化方面做得仍不盡如人意。
You don’t need itwhen a PC is a PC — and you don’t need to change it if I’m a man or a woman —but it is different if I’m wearing it, she said.
就事論事時無需分析性別差異——也無需因性別而改動數據，但穿戴後的效果就大相徑庭了。她說。
