London is known for its innovation and willingness to try things new when it comes to fashion, and this season’s Fashion Week in the city has been no exception. Digit has been very excited to see an explosion in the use of digital and physical interactive media forms.

In a poignant example of his forward-thinking and innovative spirit, the late Alexander McQueen was already using digital media to stream his show live from Paris last year, using giant robotic cameras in collaboration with Nick Knight’s Showstudio. This year, Burberry raised the bar with their decision to broadcast their show live in 3D at various locations around the world, allowing people, with the aid of those 3D glasses, to experience the show as if they are sat front row. Thumbs up for this innovative use of technology Burberry but do you really think the fashionistas are going to be happy about donning those unstylish 3-D specs?

The British Fashion Council have taken the commendable step to launch a ‘Digital Schedule’ this year, generously broadcasting all of their main on-schedule shows online. This means that it’s no longer just the fashion elite who have access to that front row feeling.

For those who lucky enough to get a real-life seat at the shows, the use of micro-blogging using sites such as Twitter has accelerated this session with second by second thoughts and twit-pics from journalists appearing as soon as the models step out onto the catwalk. Famous fashion-bloggers have been invited to sit alongside high-profile journalists, creating instant publicity about shows through their tweets. London Fashion Week are also promoting fashion tweets and pictures by providing a live stream of all relevant tweets alongside their live video-feeds.

Elsewhere, designer Cassette Playa incorporated rune-like symbols into the prints of her fabrics. Combined with streaming video, a giant screen and a bit of technical wizardry, she created the worlds very first Augmented Reality (AR) fashion show. As the models stood in front of the screen, animated 3D virtual garments and accessories were augmented onto their bodies, bringing them to life.

There is also talk of a Cassette Playa augmented-reality iPhone app later in the year, allowing phone users to create their own virtual-meets-physical experience of the collection. Henry Holland also tapped into the younger, more tech-savvy market, creating a Blackberry which allowed fans to instantly purchase limited-edition tshirts from his show direct from the side of the catwalk, ahead of the usual six months it takes them to hit the shops.

In terms of physical-interaction installations, On|Off arguably stole the show with their offerings. A huge video dance-wall outside their catwalk space was been designed to interact with two dancers who will be doing unusual art-performances between shows. They also collaborated with product designer Michael Warren to create a fitting tribute to Alexander McQueen via a huge wall of iPods individually displaying an interactive photo-reel of each of McQueen’s collections.

It seems the fashion industry is really starting to fully open up its creative hands to the possibilities of interactive media. With people such as MovingBrands, Showstudio and of course the designers themselves already aiming to push the boundaries in the way we experience fashion, we’re really excited to see what technologies will be on-trend next season…

Good evening, please sit down, tuck in your napkin, and help yourself to a healthy portion of Last week we were mostly talking about – the weekly left overs from the Digit in-boxes.

As a wiser man than I once said,  nothing lasts forever. And in the week where HTML 5 started showing poor old Flash what it could do, not to mention this very info-graphic reminder of how much market share Internet Explorer have haemorrhaged since 2002, this seems especially true.

But they’re not the only ones who’ve been crying into their cornflakes because of the big bad web. Apparently, according the report that claims the Internet causes depression, we are all feeling a bit boo hoo of late.

Ah well, although some things on the Internet may change, others will always remain the same.

Computer games will continue to be released in ever more elaborate ways (This one for Dante’s Inferno hid code all over the web).

Websites, like this one for Wrangler, will use film in increasingly seamless and interactive ways.

Giffs will get better and better.

Above-the-line creative’s will keep stealing their ideas from Youtube.

And sympathetic brands will continue to fund bizarre characters with the weapons they need for Internet dictatorship. Although in this instance we can’t complain too much, as Puma and Jagermeister’s have at least managed to tool up a South African Hip Hop trio for a rather amusing drive-by.

OK, any other business before we bid you bon voyage?

Well, we did see a beautifully simple instillation in Hermes’ shop window, a nice app that records and visualises all the movements your mouse makes in a day (see picture, and download here for PC or MAC), and a feel good idea that sees a load disposable cameras being passed around the world photo by photo. It would have been a nice web thing for a camera brand.

Right, now what’s for pudding…

A couple of us went to the RSA on Monday to listen to Jaron Lanier talk about his new book You are not a Gadget.

This book is critical of web 2.0, crowd dynamics, creative commons and all that it has spawned. In essence, and the talk was far more complex and philosophical than this, Jaron was reacting to the pervasive mantra of Web 2.0’s most ardent supporters. This mantra is probably best typified by Chris Anderson’s new book Free, and the free-conomics it persuades us to believe in.  Jaron, and bear in mind he was until recently banging this drum the loudest, believes that Web 2.0 has had its chance to define the culture and economics of the future. But has failed.

He cites Journalism and the music industry as proof that the way we use this technology has devalued human enterprise, creativity, and intellect and cannot sustain itself. As he says, “the vast majority of journalists, musicians, artists and filmmakers” are “staring into career oblivion because of our failed digital idealism”. Yes, yes, he knows that there are lots of examples of bands giving their music away for free and making money on branded pencil cases and whatnot. But as a whole he believes the industry and the creative people who work within it cannot be sustained this way. This is an important point, for Jaron is not arguing against particular success stories – ‘more power to you’ he says, he is arguing against the system as a whole.

Perhaps Jaron will find it amusing that I also went to the launch of Chris Anderson’s book where one of the other speakers invited to add meat to the bones of Chris’ free-conomics argument was the editor of The London Paper. The London Paper went out of business shortly after he spoke.

Is Jaron right? Well, by the timethat there are enough people who believe he is, it will probably be too late.

Anyway, here is your free blog post. Would you now like a website?

Buy the book here
Some FAQ here
A good review in NYT that discusses the other implications of his point
And some good background on Janier at Times Online

We at Digit are a motley bunch – a mishmash of specialities, nationalities and personalities. Each and every one of us gets out of bed in the morning motivated by something different. Sometimes those bits of inspiration are personal, sometimes they’re professional. But they’re always something special. At the close of last year, we pulled together the most inspiring things we’d seen in 2009. It’s quite a collection. The list is as varied as we are. We hope you find it inspiring.

The design team is feeling quite ‘political’ this week. Which is rare thing these days. Designers political beliefs are more often repressed through fear of upsetting the happy status quo of the design studio. This is a far cry from the 60’s. Just keep it all in, don’t cause a stir.

But then Greg Hands MP said a few things publicly in the Times and that was it! See post below for some of the more polite things that were said. “Where is the Design Union? Do we have one?” asked a few designers. No we don’t. Maybe there will be soon as some one has already dispatched an email to the TUC. On the flip side of the spectrum “Did you know Oswald Mosley ran amok with the fascists in the 30’s on the street outside?”. Politics is all around us, deeply engrained in to our lives, whether we like it or not. Then there was ‘Photoshop Friday’ albeit on Thursday, inspired by the Leader of the Opposition whos haters are gathering online momentum with this and this.

This may have all just been a matter of timing, as many of us are busy researching some of the historic routes of graphic design. Constructivism making way for Bauhaus. A depth of thinking behind graphic design that aims to improve peoples lives.

There is no single agenda in the studio. The political spectrum here is broad, left to right. But suddenly the political calm of the studio became a dynamic movement. Conversation outside of the norms of form and function. Its was a joy to watch. I’ve no doubt some of the current things we are working on will only benefit from this somewhat reactionary political moment within Digit. I look forward to seeing the next batch of Digits work.

Sharlin So what’s the Apple tablet then?

Creative Director It’s probably some sort of touch screen tablet computer

S I don’t get it

CD Well, you know a PDA…

S The boxy thing with a pen at the top?

CD It’s more like a small computer you can press with your finger

S You’re going to need good nails!

CD Think of it like a big iphone

S I’m not keen on that

CD What!? So there’s no need for a tablet?

S No, they don’t need to invent it, it’s just a waste of money. They just need to scrap it. They haven’t invented it have they? I won’t be buying one.

CD Ok, well, urm ,think about an Ereader

S Oooh, I want an Ereader

CD Ok, but now imagine if that Ereader could also browse the internet, play films, have all your photos and music, a load of different apps, as well as an interactive keyboard. So what do you reckon, do you want one now?

S Yeah, I do.

CD But I thought you said it was a waste of money?

S Yeah, but now I know it can do all those things, I want one. I’m going to go out and buy one.

So there you have it folks. No one really knows what the Apple tablet is going to look like or how it will operate, but one thing’s for sure…our receptionist is sure as hell going to go out and get one.