Camaraderie of Denim & Technology

“Will you just stop stuffing your jeans pockets with your mobile and money? I am tired of cross-checking before washing, someday I will give a shower to your mobile handset..”

This statement didn’t come as a surprise to me but rather as a sarcastic joke on me…my beloved readers, do you think I am joking or recalling one of my bad dream, then hold on, this is not a dream nor a PJ, but the honest set of remarks from my mother, which I received every day. During the initial days of my career, especially while dumping my clothes in washing machine tub, my mother always found my denims with same color shade and usually with some currency notes and my mobile as a must option in my denim’s pockets, for which I was frequently scolded with an additional remark; ‘you are earning and still act like a 3 year old child, when will you grow up’. Well that period had it’s own fancy but today when I look back I realize the reason why I usually left my mobile in my pockets. Since, I loved bike riding and it became quite hard for me to continue with riding and attend the call with my hand, so most of the times I had stopped the bike under a tree or at the corner of road and attended the call, and maybe in a frequency of consequent expressions I must have kept the mobile back in pocket, which was left in my pocket till next morning, to be found by my mumma dear.

Maybe, on most of those situations my mother got my mobile from my pocket…a crazy blunder made by me.  Just as a resolution I thought of a bluetooth, but again I picked some unwanted calls in disguise. Then ultimately I decided to stop picking any calls while riding, but unfortunately it led to some more unfavourable consequences, like; missing an urgent call from my boss or a potential client.. So what’s the ultimate solution, pick the call while risking my life and fall into the horror of my mother’s snap talks.

I wondered for a while and thought to experience something BIG & more innovative like Steven Speilberg movie’s hero in my grown-up stage, but again my dreams were thrashed brutally by my demanding work and I ended up as a passionate Business Leadership Manager at Techugo, then being a Hero of Sci-Fi thriller of my own era. Now, when I look back a smile runs over my lips, but there is a need to address this issue, which can’t be ignored off.

I always looked at myself as a frequent bike rider, now mostly on my week-offs, since high designation has come with its own set of responsibilities, where I get to commute more with my personally owned BMW, but on week-offs I turn more a fanatic biker, and with increasing curiosity and traffic I opt for short-cuts and sans traffic roads, then I realized how difficult and dangerous it can be to follow directions on your phone, answer a call and listen to music.

But last Thursday, I read an interesting piece on internet: Google and Levi’s partnered together to produce the Google Trucker Jacket. Just to know what’s this, I read further; the jacket uses technology named Project Jacquard. Project Jacquard can make fabric interactive and touch sensitive through their conductive yarns. This technology was used for the smart jacket and make it possible for you to stay connected while you ride….WHILE YOU RIDE, only these 3 words got my maximum attention, and instead of quitting the news in between, I managed a tight glance on the news. The report further stated, “The Jacquard is an interface blended into the clothing that we’re wearing has implications in the way we would use sensors, products, applications and anything that we do with our technology, a smart tag is attached to the jacket, it allows for you to change your music, control the music volume, get information about places near you, answer or decline calls, and get directions.”

The USB tag is located on the sleeve and looks like a button. The tag is removable should you need to wash the jacket and/or charge it. The Jacket is designed with the urban cyclist in mind.

After reading the report, I started to visualize how I would look like; wearing a tech-denim with a handsome pair of Gucci shades, and I look like a dapper, competing with Brad Pitt in the looks. Again, jokes apart, but whenever this jacket is going to hit the market, it would surely end up in my cupboard, albeit Google and Levi’s have yet to announce how much it will cost. The jacket will be made available to the public in Spring 2017. And for me the Spring 2017 wait has initiated from Summer 2016 only.

Way to go…

Ankit Singh