High-tech took on a fashionable twist in New York when the designer Vivienne Tam sent models down the runway clutching slim, red Hewlett-Packard laptops instead of evening bags.
"It's a little laptop, like a fashionable clutch," Tam said backstage before her show Tuesday night, at which she gave a sneak peek at the limited-edition computer. "It's so light, you could carry it anywhere."
Her signature red peony print, the motif for her spring 2009 collection, appeared on the cover of the laptop, or "digital clutch," which will not be available until early next year.
"I wanted to give life and color to a computer," Tam said. "Even if you're in the office, you should feel like you're in a garden."
The peony's petals on the laptop's cover symbolize multitasking, which is synonymous with being a woman in today's tech-oriented society, she said.
"We're launching it sometime around the Chinese New Year," said Tam, a New York designer who was born in China and is the author of a book titled "China Chic." The next lunar new year begins Jan. 26, 2009.
The laptop's tiny keyboard is bright red, which is Tam's favorite color. She chose the peony as the theme for her collection of mostly dresses "because it's my favorite flower; it represents prosperity and beauty."
Satjiv Chahil, senior vice president of global marketing for Hewlett-Packard, said the collaboration with Tam was intended to appeal to "about half the world's population."
"About 66 percent of the Internet users in the United States are women," Chahil said, declining to give any specifics about the laptop or when it would be released.
He said the partnership with Tam was a departure from what he called a tired trend in technology companies' attempts to create products tailored for women.
"Look, it's beautiful, it's practical and it fits in any handbag," Chahil said during...

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