geekosystem

In keeping with trends set by pretty much every video game and adolescent male fantasy in the history of forever, female avatars in the digital realm are more likely to be scantily clad than their male counterparts. That's according to a study of digital fashion in online play space Second Life by researchers at Laval University, who we'd like to thank for reminding us that Second Life is still, apparently, a thing.

Does wearing a pair of pants woven from the mucky slime produced by a nervous hagfish sound awesome to you? ...Yeah, it's not really a turn on for us, either. That's not stopping researchers at Canada's Guelph University from working to make that possibility an utterly vile reality by transforming the thick, mucus-like strands of sticky slime produced by hagfish as a defense mechanism into a super-strong fabric of the future.

One might recall that Google Glass made something of a splash during New York Fashion Week thanks to fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg. The two icons paired up to include the gadget on stylists, models, and Furstenberg herself. Google has since released a video shot entirely through the device. This is the first time that any video composed purely of Google Glass footage has been made public, and it showcases a lot of beautiful people.

Between staring at E3 videos today, we discovered the spectacular work of artist Julie Heffernan. In this series of oil paintings from 2007, Heffernan presents a series of what are apparently self portraits featuring the artist in enormous dresses made from piles of dead animals. It's a startling, surreal series of paintings but completely wonderful. See more, after the break.

You've got all the games, for every system. You can draw the maps for Zelda dungeons from memory. You wore a Power Glove to your wedding. You're a Nintendo nerd, or at least you think you are. I hate to pop your bubble, but unless you've got the numerous items in this Nintendo apparel ad from 1994, you're nothing. The retailer even recommends that you purchase a "backup Nintendo T-shirt for those surprise attacks." Apparently, you might barf yourself or pee your shirt or something. See the full ad, in its antiquated glory, after the break.

Spotted at Rome's Fashion Week, this piece, "Fishlike Alien With A Literal Boob In The Center" from Gianni Molaro, looks like a fishlike alien that has a literal boob in the center. This is what fashion has come to. For real fashion, check out our sister site Styleite.

Before Steve Jobs opted to give himself a minimalist uniform of jeans and a turtleneck, before the lowercase "i" nomenclature became standard at the computing company, Apple had a line of clothing for its staff to peruse. The above image is just a tiny taste of the incredible 1986 collection, demonstrating that beneath a sideways sweater and joyful yellow lunch pail lurks the mind of a heartless corporate raider. The ad copy is about as hilarious as the imagery, for instance, one description of a sweatshirt begins with, "After a rough day windsurfing..." And yeah, there's a sailboard for sale, too. The 80s were a magical time, friend. Read on after the break to see the rest.

As someone who has been wearing glasses for a while, I'll admit that I do a pretty terrible job of keeping them clean. And if it's not glasses, it's your iPhone or your tablet that's covered with schmutz. That's why the Japanese design duo fift thought it would be a great idea to put microfiber patches on a t-shirt, to facilitate better glass cleaning on the go. Except unlike the free microfiber sheets you get with a new glasses case, this shirt costs $90.

Steve Jobs made the black turtleneck and 501 jeans an instantly noticeable, iconic form of dress, becoming widespread enough to the point where the outfit is one of the first Jobs-related items that gets parodied when doing a bit. Following the announcement of Jobs' death, sales of the famous turtleneck actually significantly increased. Though the outfit became recognizable as a representation of Jobs, and to a lesser extent, Apple itself, its inception wasn't all too celebrated, and was initially rejected by Apple. In a book due to release in a couple of weeks, entitled Steve Jobs, biographer Walter Isaacson explains the turtleneck's origins. In the 1980s, Jobs spoke with Sony chairman Akio Morita about why everyone in the factories wore uniforms, to which Mortia explained that after the war, people didn't have enough clothes so Sony had to give them something to wear. Eventually, the uniforms evolved into their own styles, and created a kind of bond amongst employees. Jobs wanted Apple employees to have a similar bond, so he contacted the designer of the Sony uniforms, Issey Miyake, and asked Miyake to make a vest for Apple employees. Jobs presented the vest, and Apple employees were not fond of it. "Oh man, did I get booed off the stage. Everybody hated the idea." He grew to enjoy the idea of having a uniform for himself, however, both for the convenience of having a daily go-to outfit, and because it conveyed a signature style.

Remember the fashion show sidequest from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl? Pokémon&Fashion brings it to life, adding Pokémon into fashion shots. One can only assume the Pokémon were fed well-made Poffins in order to keep their coats shiny and smooth for the photo shoots.

Last week, Styleite wrote about an invite we received to an event hosted by Google and headlined, “High Tech Fuses With High Fashion,” which led us (andevery other invitee) to believe that the web giant was launching some sort of fashion e-tailer. Today, WWD confirms the news via several sources privvy on Google’s plans. From what we can tell, it sounds like Google is taking a page out of ShopStyle and Polyvore’s book. The site will allow users to “create and share their own personalized shop by selecting style preferences and the looks, brands and items they love” (Polyvore), while linking out to a pre-existing e-tailer like Saks,ShopBop, or Yoox for purchase. >>>Read more at Styleite.

As geeks who occasionally have to function in non-geeky parts of the world, we are always on the look out for items that function in both places. Things that let us preserve our secret identity while at the same time telegraphing what's really going on to anyone in the know. This hoodie is right in that niche. For when it's zipped up, it seems fairly normal. But if you adjust it just a bit:

Stereotypically, one doesn't think of "geeks" as being the most fashionable of groups, but this new video from Rodarte, promoting their Spring 2010 collection, blows that misconception out of the water. With a wondrous mix of space ships, viscerally organic title credits, a soundtrack by No Age, and some haute couture, 2010: A Space Odyssey is one of the most stunning videos we have seen in a while.