On a recent trip touring parts of France and Switzerland, I came across the most wonderful place. The beautiful and completely unassuming village of Gruyères. This 400 year old city is mostly known for it's delicious cheese, but is also the birthplace of Swiss Science Fiction artist and designer, H.R. Giger. You have probably seen his work if you have every watched one of the most epic films of all-time, Alien. (If not, please go rent or stream it immediately.)

Gruyères was basically like opening the first page of a fairytale. This is a peek at the castle, Château de Gruyères.

The entire village.

First entrance to the museum sits at the far edge of town

Even though the place itself felt very much like a fairytale with a happy ending, walking into the entrance of the Giger legacy turned the scene quickly from fairytale into an exciting nightmare.

It's unfortunate that I could not include photos of the museum itself as they are not allowed and I wanted to respect that rule, however the Giger Bar allows anyone a glimpse at the style and intricacies of the interior. Enjoying a quick cappuccino here felt like I was in an Alien ship about to take off into outer-space.

Safety Tip: do not wear high heels while hovering

The first time I saw a hoverboard, I was thinking to myself that it looked so silly and I couldn't imagine why people would ride them. That being said, my initial plan to write a post making fun of hoverboards completely changed after riding one around for a day.



Why did I find hoverboarding helpful and fun you ask? For me, it's simply not practical to take a car to something that is just a few miles away. So while walking would take too long, and since a dress like this one is a bit too snug for a bike or a skateboard, the hoverboard was a perfect solution to an immediate requirement.

It was also really fun! For a moment, I forgot I was on a hoverboard and it felt a bit like floating or flying. This is a little terrifying for 2 reasons. 1: sometimes, to fly is to fall. 2: have you ever seen the movie "WALL·E"? I'm curious if we might forget how to walk one day. ;)

...

So yes, try it immediately and know that it does take some practice and some getting used to, so for you, I've outlined how to ride one here in a quick tutorial:

Step 1: 

Get situated.

Step 2: 

Step on quickly! No fear.

Step 3: 

Don't look at the ground, look ahead at where you want to be.

So thats it! Easy as pie. Now stand up, relax, and always be punctual for those expecting you to show up on time.

XO -Julia



Thanks for reading! All photos taken by photographer and engineer Giuseppe Ottaviano.
Find my live updates on Instagram and Twitter. These opinions are all my own.

Lightweight jackets and structured minis are what to live in as the windy, misty spring starts to transition into an upcoming summer. In San Francisco, layers are key - and the most important trend is having enough pockets to stuff all of your electronic trinkets into.





Quick look at the great pockets on the skirt as well as the jacket.


City boots keep your feet warm and dry, with just enough of a thick wedge so that you can walk anywhere for a couple of hours.

The Spike - artificial leg (2015) by Viktoria Modesta

#techstyle featuring the Airplane Dress - get ready for takeoff...

Main exhibition floor 1

Fashion and technology have always been linked. From the Singer sewing machine (patented in Boston in 1851) or the inventions of synthetic dyes and manmade fibers like nylon and polyster. These have slowly shaped the way we live everyday, and yet we don't stop and think twice about it.

Fashion is something that has been so ingrained within our lives that it has become invisible. Because of this veil, we have stopped paying attention to the effects of perceptions, judgments, and the quest for conformity born in the deepest, darkest places of slave labor and poor intent.

Exhibitions such as #techstyle surfaces manufacturing, prosthetic innovation, and take a giant leap forward in this bold, new arena of the things covering our body, and really, invisibly shaping our lives.

Forget what you know about disability, and welcome in a new era of superheros. A place where losing a limb becomes an amazing opportunity to reinvent yourself as something that has evolved past normal human constraints. Here is one woman that is shaping the way society perceives amputation as not loss, but something precious and a symbol of self empowerment.

I'm not going to talk about every dress or tech piece here, because everything really deserves it's own spotlight article. Here is a quick peek preview at some of my favorites.

Crystallisation Water Dress by Iris van Herpen

I often wonder if we will keep wearing fabrics in the future, or if dressing will become something non-material, something that is visible, but not tangible or touchable." - Iris van Herpen

Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen has created a dress modelled from splashing water, and is rethinking materials altogether.

3d printed kinematics Petal Dress by Nervous System (2016)

"Petals" protrude from the underlying framework of tessellated triangular panels, sheathing the body in a directional landscape of overlapping plumes. Each interlocking component of the dress is rigid, but, in aggregate, they behave as a continuous textile. The dress is 3D-printed in durable nylon plastic by Selective Laser Sintering. While the design is composed of more than 1600 unique pieces interconnected by more than 2600 hinges, it emerges from the 3D printer fully assembled and ready to wear. Seriously.

Dress is completely customizable, using a design interface on the company's website: n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com

Ensemble by Noa Raviv (2014)

Israeli fashion designer Noa Raviv has integrated 3D-printed elements into ruffled garments influenced by distorted digital drawings.

On a model

Bodice (2013) by Manish Arora