谷歌和Levi’s合作的智能牛仔装会红吗

 　　Standing¹ in Levi’ssweaty atelier, where the jeans maker² experiments with new designs, just blocksfrom the San Francisco Bay, Paul Dillinger pulls on a new denim³ jacket. Createdfor cyclists, it has a drop-back tail, so your back isn’t left exposed; stormcuffs, to stop air blowing up your sleeves; and, unexpectedly, thetechnological equivalent of a magic wand.

　　保罗.狄林格(Paul Dillinger)站在牛仔装生产商李维斯(Levi’s)异常闷热的新装试验室里，正在试穿一件牛仔夹克新样装。这件牛仔装专为自行车运动员打造：防止参赛车手露出后背的圆尾形后摆(drop-back tail)以及防止窜风的防风式袖口，这款牛仔夹克犹如从天而降的魔杖，无所不能。

　　“What spells would you like to casttoday? he laughs, tapping on his left arm, where sensors⁶ have been woven intothe fabric⁷ and a colour-changing light is snapped on to the cuff⁴.

　　看看这件新装今天能施展什么魔法？他敲击着左胳膊笑问道，传感器缝进了牛仔面料中，变幻颜色的光束照射到了衣服袖口处。

　　谷歌和Levi 合作的智能牛仔装会红吗

　　The sleeve isenchanted: inside is technology that can help cyclists do everything fromanswer phone calls to avoid getting lost.

　　袖口也如同被施了魔法：内置的高科技能让车手实现从接听电话到查询方位的各项功能。

　　Cyclists can usetheir smartphone to set up the jacket so it recognises favourite callers.

　　车手可以用自己的智能手机对夹克进行设置，夹克就能识别出车手最常用的电话联系人；通过谷歌地图(Google Maps)提供的具体方位信息，

　　They can then tapor swipe their sleeve to send a text saying what time they are likely to arrivehome — drawn⁸ from data on their location via Google Maps.

　　车手可以轻击或重击袖口来发送大约何时到家的短信。

　　The jacket — dueout in spring 2017 — is part of a new generation of wearables aiming to maketechnology fashionable.

　　这款夹克预定2017年春季推出，它属于新一代科技时尚化的可穿戴产品。

　　Fashion has beenexperimenting with technology in high profile one-off garments for a while.

　　时尚界曾经在知名品牌的一次性服装上试验高科技，但无法实现大规模市场化应用。

　　But it has not yetbrought that technology to a larger market. People were wowed by the Marchesadress — developed with IBM’s artificial intelligence system, Watson — thatchanged colour when people tweeted, which Karolina Kurkova wore to the Met Galathis year.

　　IBM使用Watson人工智能系统设计的玛切萨(Marchesa)裙子让时尚拥趸如痴如醉，它能根据Twitter用户的情绪变化实时变换颜色，超模卡罗莱娜.库科娃(Karolina Kurkova)穿着它参加了今年的纽约大都会博物馆慈善晚会(Met Gala)。

　　Make Fashion, agroup of Canadian artists and engineers, have spent five years creating playfuldesigns such as Gamer Girls dresses — where the dress changes depending onwhether they win or lose.

　　由加拿大一些艺术家与工程师组成的团队Make Fashion花了五年时间设计Gamer Girls这类妙趣横生的女裙——它能根据输赢结果变换颜色。

　　But thus farwidespread uptake of such technologies has been slow.

　　但迄今为止，对此类高科技时装的市场认同度仍然相当低。

　　Even technologycompanies led by Apple, the most design conscious in the industry, havefloundered in creating products that appeal beyond their geeky base.

　　即使是苹果公司引领的高科技公司研发的产品，其影响力也仍然没走出自家的创意工作室。

　　The Apple Watchoffers a wide range of straps⁹, including a collection handmade by Hermesartisans in France.

　　苹果手表(Apple Watch)推出的表带样式五花八门，其中就包括由爱马仕(Hermes)设计师在法国手工打造的一个系列。

　　Now some fashionhouses are starting to form partnerships¹¹ with technology companies to swapexpertise and fill in blind spots.

　　如今一些时尚品牌开始与科技类公司建立合作关系，以换取对方的专业技能，弥补自身盲区。

　　Tech manufacturersare teaching fashion companies about how to make chips and batteries thin,while fashion houses are teaching techies about the trials of making many sizesand ensuring a teched-up garment is fit to launder¹².

　　科技类公司向时装公司传授制作小型芯片与电池的技术，而时装公司则向对方传授设计不同型号时装以及确保高科技时装耐洗的诀窍。

　　Chipmaker Intelhas worked with watchmakers Fossil and Tag Heuer and eyewear company Luxottica,while fitness-tracker maker Fitbit has teamed up with both Tory Burch andclothing company Public School.

　　芯片生产商英特尔(Intel)联手Fossil、豪雅(TAG Heuer)等腕表品牌以及全球最大的眼镜公司Luxottica，而穿戴式健身追踪器生产商Fitbit与汤丽柏琦(Tory Burch)以及时装品牌Public School成了合作伙伴。

　　Earlier this monthduring New York Fashion Week Michael Kors announced its first foray intowearable tech.

　　九月初的纽约时装周(New York Fashion Week)期间，迈克.科尔斯(Michael Kors)首次宣布进军高科技可穿戴设备领域。

　　In partnershipwith Google, the brand has unveiled a smart watch based on its bestsellinganalogue collection.

　　在自己最畅销的analogue¹³指针系列手表基础上，它与谷歌合作推出了一款智能腕表。

　　The new Dylan andBradshaw models include features such as notification functions, maps, and avoice-directed Google search facility. It will retail¹⁴ for ￡329 — about ￡100more than the analogue version

　　最新推出的Dylan男表与Bradshaw女表拥有通知、地图以及语音定向谷歌探索等功能，其零售价为329英镑，比analogue系列腕表大约贵100英镑。

　　For Sidney Chang,the principal of business development at Google, these collaborations are anessential part of the company’s future.

　　在谷歌业务开发部主管Sidney Chang看来，与时尚公司的合作对谷歌未来的发展至关重要。

　　We’re very nimble,he explained during the launch last week.

　　我们会伺机而动。

　　We’ve alreadypartnered with Fossil, Tag Heuer and Nixon on smartwatches, but each brandrepresents a different customer and a different set of criteria¹⁵.

　　在不久前的新品发布会上，他这样说道，谷歌已与Fossil、豪雅以及Nixon合推了智能腕表，但每个品牌又代表了各自不同的消费群体与技术标准。

　　We love thediversity of working with different brands, and developing wearables thatreflect your identity.

　　我们喜欢与风格各异的不同品牌合作，研发反映品牌自身特色的可穿戴产品。

　　Of course, we havethe physics to enable these technologies, but we can’t bring the people, or theparty, or the associations.

　　当然，谷歌有科技产品化的雄厚实力，但没有消费者、群体或团体等人脉资源。

　　If Google Glasswas an excellent example of a great idea that looked tragically¹⁶ uncool, thesenew collaborations should go some way to bridging the gulf¹⁷ between function andfashionability.

　　如果说谷歌眼镜是绝妙的想法开发成土里土气产品的典范，那么高科技公司与时尚品牌的珠联璧合或多或少弥补了功能与时尚之间的鸿沟。

　　Google gets accessto a younger, more image-focused market and all the benefits of a high-endmarketing campaign.

　　谷歌的受众是那些形象至上的年轻人，也是高端营销活动的最大受益者。

　　The fashion housegets to bring its brand to life in new ways, to a new audience. Everyone wins.

　　时尚公司实现了品牌的脱胎换骨，又增加了新的消费群体，这对双方来说是双赢之举。

　　Google was alsoLevis’ partner in developing the cycling jacket, bringing together Google’sAdvanced Technology and Projects team in Silicon¹⁹ Valley, with the brand’sin-house skunk²⁰ works.

　　谷歌也是李维斯牛仔研发自行车手夹克外套的合作者，谷歌位于硅谷的前沿科技攻关小组与李维斯的研发团队(skunk works)实现了珠联璧合。

　　Dillinger, Levi’sglobal product innovation lead, says the partnership¹⁰ worked because Google camewilling to learn from Levi’s as much as the other way round. And there wereconsiderable challenges: the technology had to survive the aggressive testingconditions demanded of the denim before it gets into stores.

　　李维斯产品创新部全球主管狄林格说双方的合作之所以成功，是因为双方都愿意从对方身上取长补短，当然双方的合作也面临艰巨挑战：谷歌的高科技必须经受住牛仔装投放市场前的严格测试。

　　We had the bestcapabilities of the two companies frankly²¹, says Dillinger.

　　平心而论，我们实现了集双方之优点于一身。

　　We are not verygood at technology and they are not very good at garments.

　　狄林格说，高科技并非我们的强项，而服装也不是谷歌的强项。

　　Sandra Lopez,vice-president at Intel’s new technology group, has both skillsets: she studiedtextiles and clothes marketing¹⁸, and then went on to work in tech, including atAdobe and Macromedia, before arriving at Intel.

　　英特尔新技术部副总裁桑德拉.洛佩兹(Sandra Lopez)则是两者皆备：她的专业是纺织品服装营销，毕业后则在高科技公司工作，来英特尔之前，曾谋职于Adobe与全球最大的网络多媒体软件公司Macromedia。

　　Intel bringsretailers into its Silicon Valley office to discuss the challenges and has evenhad its own wearables shown at New York Fashion Week.

　　英特尔把零售商邀请至其硅谷总部，共同探讨面临的挑战，它甚至把自己设计的穿戴设备在纽约时装周上展出。

　　For example, itworked on the MICA²² (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) designed by OpeningCeremony and launched in 2014.

　　比方说，它智能化了Opening Ceremony设计的MICA手镯，并于2014年推出。

　　The chunkybracelet, with precious gems²³ and Ayers snakeskin sends the user notificationsfrom SMS and social apps.

　　这串沉甸甸的手镯用宝石与Ayers蛇皮装饰，可接收短信及社交应用软件的通知。

　　In the last yearand a half Lopez says she has begun to see real progress as more fashion housesare building their own research and development departments to examine how touse technology in their collections.

　　过去一年半里，随着更多时尚公司自建高科技的研发部门，洛佩兹说自己就已看到切实进展。

　　Sometimes, shesays, the key is to strip down the technology to streamline²⁴ a product, so itdoesn’t need as many buttons or as large a battery.

　　她说有时候最关键的是科技助力产品的小型化，这样一来就实现了按钮最少化与电池最小化。

　　Engineers like topush technological⁵ boundaries — bring in a bunch of features — that is theirmindset.

　　工程技术人员青睐于技术突破——那是他们的‘癖好’。

　　We see this whenwe are creating a product for a young woman, aged²⁵ 18 to 35, and asking whatwould be relevant for her? Engineers want to add more tech for tech’s sake, buta designer with a customer-centric mindset thinks ‘what is really needed?’

　　为18-35岁的年轻女人设计产品时，这种特性体现得一清二楚，这些产品与她们的关联度到底有多大，很值得商榷。工程技术人员希望科技运用得多多益善，但设计师考虑的则是客户是上帝的‘消费者需求至上’原则。

　　Designers are alsolearning from a set of data they never had before: information on how acustomer actually uses the product.

　　设计师还从之前从未掌握的数据中获益，比如消费者使用产品的真实信息。

　　On the MICA,designers assumed their audience would prioritise the social notifications — infact wearers were using the fitness functions much more than expected.

　　在MICA智能腕表上，设计师本认为消费者会优先使用其社交通知功能，而事实上使用最多的却是健身追踪功能，这大大出乎设计师所料。

　　Those aha momentswere never possible before, once someone had left the store.

　　顾客过去从门店购完物离开后，那种顿悟时刻（aha moments，思考过程中一种特殊的、愉悦的体验，期间会突然对之前并不明朗的某个局面产生深入的认识。）从未有之。

　　What does it meanfor merchandising strategy? Should design get sportier? Lopez asks.

　　科技对促销策略意味着什么？设计是否应该更加花哨些？洛佩兹这样问道。

　　Fashion andtechnology are edging closer to a relationship that could produce more stylishwearables, but a future where every wardrobe needs its own chargers still looksa way off.

　　时尚与科技越发亲密无间，造就了更为时尚的可穿戴产品，但普通服装实现科技化依然任重而道远。

　　Carolina Milanesi,a consumer technology analyst²⁶ at Silicon Valley market research firm CreativeStrategies, says the tech industry has failed to make wearables fashionableenough to expand beyond a niche²⁷ of — often male — early adopters.

　　硅谷市场分析公司Creative Strategies消费科技分析师卡罗琳娜.米拉内西(CarolinaMilanesi)说，科技在实现可穿戴产品时尚化方面差强人意，接受者仍然仅限先期饯行者这一小撮人而已（通常为男性）。

　　As a segment,technology doesn’t do gender²⁸ differentiation²⁹ very well so far.

　　作为市场区隔（Segment，即把消费者依不同需求、特征区分成若干个不同的群体，而形成各个不同的消费群）的一部分，科技迄今为止，在性别差异化方面做得仍不尽如人意。

　　You don’t need itwhen a PC is a PC — and you don’t need to change it if I’m a man or a woman —but it is different if I’m wearing it, she said.

　　就事论事时无需分析性别差异——也无需因性别而改动数据，但穿戴后的效果就大相径庭了。她说

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 denim   

n.斜纹棉布；斜纹棉布裤，牛仔裤

参考例句：

• She wore pale blue denim shorts and a white denim work shirt.她穿着一条淡蓝色的斜纹粗棉布短裤，一件白粗布工作服上衣。
• Dennis was dressed in denim jeans.丹尼斯穿了一条牛仔裤。

4 cuff   

n.袖口；手铐；护腕；vt.用手铐铐；上袖口

参考例句：

• She hoped they wouldn't cuff her hands behind her back.她希望他们不要把她反铐起来。
• Would you please draw together the snag in my cuff?请你把我袖口上的裂口缝上好吗？

5 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

6 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

7 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 straps   

n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• the shoulder straps of her dress 她连衣裙上的肩带
• The straps can be adjusted to suit the wearer. 这些背带可进行调整以适合使用者。

10 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

11 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

12 launder   

v.洗涤；洗黑钱（把来路可疑的钱弄得似乎合法）

参考例句：

• She wore a freshly laundered and starched white shirt.她穿一件刚刚浆洗熨烫过的白色衬衣。
• The gang launders the steal money through their chain of restaurants.这帮匪徒通过他们的连锁饭店洗赃款。

13 analogue   

n.类似物；同源语

参考例句：

• The gill of a fish is the analogue of the lung of a cat.鱼的鳃和猫的肺是类似物。
• But aside from that analogue standby,the phone, videoconferencing is their favorite means of communication.除了备用的相似物电话，可视对话是他们最喜欢的沟通手段。

14 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

15 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

16 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

17 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

18 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

19 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

20 skunk   

n.臭鼬，黄鼠狼；v.使惨败，使得零分；烂醉如泥

参考例句：

• That was a rotten thing to do, you skunk!那种事做得太缺德了，你这卑鄙的家伙！
• The skunk gives off an unpleasant smell when attacked.受到攻击时臭鼬会发出一种难闻的气味。

21 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

22 mica   

n.云母

参考例句：

• It could not pass through material impervious to water such as mica.它不能通过云母这样的不透水的物质。
• Because of its layered structure,mica is fissile.因为是层状结构，云母很容易分成片。

23 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

24 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

25 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

26 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

27 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

28 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

29 differentiation   

n.区别，区分

参考例句：

• There can be no differentiation without contrast. 有比较才有差别。
• The operation that is the inverse of differentiation is called integration. 与微分相反的运算叫做积分。