Is it worlds colliding or simply the inevitable? David Hellaby investigates the merging of fashion and computing.
Something associated with mice, bugs, crashes and screen dumps is
Is it worlds colliding or simply the inevitable? David Hellaby investigates the merging of fashion and computing.
Something associated with mice, bugs, crashes and screen dumps is not normally associated with style. In fact, for several decades computers and fashion were as far apart as fire and water - so much so that computers were considered by many to be the antithesis of fashion.
It was sacrilege to suggest a computer could be stylish; after all everybody knew and loved them for their ugliness. Their drabness was one of their crowning achievements and the popularity of their beige or cream boxes was 'proven' by the abject failure of the likes of IBM and ACER to dare to attempt to offer them in black or green.
But like a lot of people in IT, computer designers didn't know when they were beaten and kept daring to suggest alternatives.
Hewlett-Packard took the bold step three or four years ago of offering two-tone PCs. Admittedly they were beige and dark beige - but it was a beginning, and it was successful. But despite it being what many called a courageous move, it was still stunningly conservative by comparison with what was around the corner.
On August 15 1998 a wash basin designer from London and one of the original garage geeks from Silicon Valley dragged the computer industry kicking and screaming out of the dark ages and threw it onto the fashion stage.