Coronavirus has reshaped our lives in unexpected ways, putting more emphasis to the digital rather than physical world: fashion-wise, the rhythm of fashion weeks and shows has been completely disrupted with some designers going for smaller presentations or favouring the digital medium and choosing to organise virtual shows. Many of us are still opting for smart working, while we may be following online courses to learn a new skill or have Zoom conferences to keep updated at work and collaborate with colleagues. Besides, while schools may be reopening or have reopened, online learning is still here to stay in case of emergencies or as a precaution. All these situations mean that one laptop is definitely not enough in one household. Yet in the last few months some countries went through computer shortages with laptops being sold out as manufacturers weren't able to keep up with the demand during the pandemic.
Maybe inspired by these needs for computers, maybe prompted by the fact that fashion brands have been looking at other ways to engage with consumers, some companies turned to rather unusual collaborations. Taiwanese multinational computer and electronics company Asus joined forces for example with German techwear brand Acronym to release an advanced machine, the Zephyrus G14 gaming laptop.
The main point behind this collaboration was combining a powerful computer technology with strong aesthetics to create a product that may prove desirable not just for gamers, but for all creative professionals.
A futuristic brand with famous fans, among them also cyberpunk author William Gibson (who is a friend of co-founder Errolson Hugh), Acronym mainly produces functional and practical pieces all characterised by the abscence of prominent and easily recognisable logos.
The Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) Zephyrus G14 ACRNM is among the world's most powerful gaming laptops: it features an AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS processor, Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2060 GFX card, a 1TB SSD and 32GB of RAM. The QHD 60Hz display is also "Pantone validated." Design-wise the lid is covered with a matrix of tiny LED lights that can light up to create patterns, graphics, text messages and logos. The word "ZPHYRS" is written across the back vent, printed on the packaging and etched into the bottom of the chassis, that also features a series of symbols (including the ROG logo). The keys on the keyboard are coloured and characterised by the "A" letter logo on every corner of most letter keys; the battery life is excellent and the weight contained (roughly 1,5 Kg) also thanks to the magnesium alloy deck topped by an aluminum lid.
The laptop is preloaded with a software called The Brain developed by Harlan Hugh, Errolson Hugh's brother, a programme that a user can employ to organise things to do, ideas and projects. This machine is indeed not conceived as just for gamers but for all those users generating video contents, working with large images, or employing design programmes that literally eat up the memory of ordinary laptops.
The history of design features some great collaborations between technology companies and creative minds, from the Olivetti Valentine typing machine designed in 1968 by Ettore Sottsass and Perry A. King to Studio Alchimia's Commodore 64 (1985) or Michele De Lucchi's designs for Olivetti, but this collaboration opens up a new path for fashion houses and brands.
This is indeed the first global collaboration for the Asus ROG line and it would be good to see if more industrial or fashion designers will join in and develop further projects with the company/the line in future. Though this is a powerful machine (that will set you back $2,499 if you can still find it - it is released in a limited edition and it is already sold out in some places such as Bodega), the technological details are not as important as the actual consequences of this collaboration that proves that technology and fashion are getting closer and closer.
So far fashion brands and also luxury houses have produced items for technological devices such as smartphone cases and laptop bags, but new possibilities opened up in the last few years with some fashion houses collaborating with videogame developers (Louis Vuitton's collaborating with "Final Fantasy" or, more recently, the "Animal Crossing" craze that has spread at different levels of the fashion industry) .
Acronym also stepped into the world of videogames: the brand's jackets appeared in "Death Stranding" and in April this year the brand teamed up with Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions and recreated the jacket worn by Norman Reedus' character in the game.
Errolson Hugh also consulted on the apparel in "Deus Ex: Human Revolution", but this may be the next logical step of the tech/videogame/fashion collaboration, a gaming laptop designed by a fashion brand dedicated to all creative minds.
As fashion shows are becoming a distant memory because of Coronavirus, there are more opportunities for partnerships and branding of this kind, but in the meantime keeping an eye on techwear is also recommended: these garments are comfortable and practical and there is usually a lot of research that goes into some of these designs (think about extreme heat insulation, water resistance, pockets for accessory storage, or textile innovations; Acronym has got a jacket with a zipper that allows you to remove the garment while wearing a seat belt) and they may prove ideal not just in the virtual world of videogames but in the real pandemic and post-pandemic world we are living in now.
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