Thanks to the participation of the award-winning singer, dancer, choreographer and television personality, CES 2023 served as the launch of Paula Abdul’s IdolEyes fashion audio glasses. (Courtesy of Kenny Fried)
Courtesy of Kenny Fried
The glasses are described as glamorous eye protection, complete with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity that allows the user to make and receive phone calls and hold online meetings, while also providing an out-of-ear audio experience that gives users a whole new way to listen to music, podcasts and audio. (Courtesy of Kenny Fried)
Courtesy of Kenny Fried
While fashion hasn’t been the focus of CES in the past, for Paula Abdul, launching this product in Vegas was an absolute no-brainer. (Courtesy of Kenny Fried)
Courtesy of Kenny Fried
dr. Taryn Rose worked with designer Enrico Cuini to produce a line of men’s and women’s high fashion shoes that are widely accepted as the most comfortable and best fitting on the market. (Courtesy of Kenny Fried)
Courtesy of Kenny Fried
dr. Taryn Rose (left) and Enrico Cuini (right) pose with a reporter. (in the middle)
the middle
Over the years, fashion has never been the main focus at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
While wearables have long been a prominent feature at the world’s largest gathering for technology and innovation, most of those elements have focused more on function than form. While certain lines of smartwatches, jewelry, and accessories have progressed toward high design, most have not. As a result, CES never really showcased the world of high fashion.
Until now.
Thanks to the participation of the award-winning singer, dancer, choreographer and television personality, CES 2023 served as the launch of Paula Abdul’s IdolEyes fashion audio glasses.
The glasses are described as glamorous eye protection, complete with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity that allows the user to make and receive phone calls and hold online meetings, while also providing an out-of-ear audio experience that gives users a whole new way to listen to music, podcasts and audio.
For Abdul, the presentation of this product in Vegas was absolutely incomprehensible.
“What better setting than CES to launch this product?” she asked. “I’m so happy to finally be entering the tech arena… and as you know, I’ve played in many arenas, but I’ve always wanted to be in this world. During those years I needed the right partner, but now, thanks to 1of1 Custom, I have just that partner. I’m so excited to enter this space and merge technology with wearable fashion.”
For Abdul, fashion is indeed the key behind everything. But for Dennis Lee, founder and CEO of 1of1 Custom, technology was just as important.
“I’ve been an audio geek my whole life,” Lee said. “I was that kid in class who listened to the Sony thing through the sleeve. Here at 1of1, we believe the future of sound is visual, and for the past 12 years we’ve been outfitting some of the world’s best musicians with bespoke audio gear. For her IdolEyes audio glasses, our engineering and design teams worked with Paula to come up with a product that is fully representative of her brand, making sure to combine an excellent listening experience with her elegant design.”
Available for both women and men, the first product model comes in seven colorways and is available immediately with a starting price of $199 on the 1o1 Custom website and Abdul’s website with a rollout on Amazon and in retail stores planned for later in the year.
Elsewhere at the exhibition, another pair of highly influential figures revealed their own take on high fashion women’s footwear.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Taryn Rose and noted designer Enrico Cuini have combined cutting edge innovation with luxurious Italian design to produce a line of high fashion shoes for men and women. The shoes are widely accepted as the most comfortable and best fitting on the market.
The collaboration between Dr. Rose (known for her eponymous collection that fuses fashion with functionality) and Italian footwear designer Cuini applies the company’s patented and proprietary technology to produce personalized, custom fits through computer vision and trade secret algorithms. Their shoes disperse pressure over a larger surface area of the foot to dynamically provide pressure relief, stability and energy return, making even the tallest, sexiest shoes incredibly comfortable.
“There are two broad categories of why it’s so hard to make heels comfortable,” Rose said. “Firstly, it’s about physics, which is solved by our own foot support system and secondly, it’s about proper fit. Our sophisticated measurement systems use image recognition and artificial intelligence to avoid the hassle of training sales staff, while at the same time delivering the best fitting and most comfortable shoes on the market.”
And with prices ranging from $800 to $2,000, the quality is absolutely commensurate with the design; all of which begs the question — are Abdul’s IdolEyes fashion audio glasses and Cuini’s tech-focused footwear the exception here at CES 2023, or are they just the tip of the iceberg of emerging technology and fashion?
Steve Winter and Kenny Fried are WTOP contributors working for Brotman|Winter|Fried, a division of Sage Communications.