Fashion designers have become tech giants’ latest muse as companies like Google, Fitbit, Intel and now HP embrace fashion to transform their latest gadgets into lifestyle products. HP tapped menswear designer Michael Bastian to turn geeky, feature driven smart watches into a covetable, luxury watch.
Bastian, with a successful track record collaborating with Gant, is known for his New England preppie signature style. From the looks of the early sketches, the smart watch is greatly inspired by automotive design.
It features a 44-mm stainless steel case, buttons for control (no touch screen) and comes with three interchangeable bands to fit your life style: black rubber for sport; perforated leather for everyday wear and olive green nylon for a more rugged, outdoorsy look.
As for functionality, the watch is touted, first and foremost, as an elegant timepiece enhanced with “smart” functionality. The watch can provide weather, stock and sport updates in addition to acting as a notifier for your emails, text and social media notifications.
Bastian’s smart watch is expected to debut this Fall exclusively on flash site Gilt.