Macy's fleece with video display turns you into a player
New men's holiday sweater by Puff Daddy's design company embeds an OLED display on the left arm. Add reindeers and snowmen to this thing and you're really getting festive.
- Third place film critic, 2021 LA Press Club National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards
If you decide to wear this new Macy's fleece in public, fellas, don't be surprised when everyone stares at your left bicep. It's to be expected when you're displaying video on your sleeve (which is not to say your biceps don't warrant widespread public attention in their own right.)
Macy's teamed with designer Sean John (also known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, and so on) and Recom Group, maker of the Video Name Tag, to create the media-enabled sweater.
A 2.8-inch OLED display slips into a pouch on the fleece pullover and displays video at a resolution of 320x240. The palm-size unit has 2GB of onboard memory for storing video or slideshow playlists, so wearers can customize their sleeve showings, and it boasts up to 10 hours of battery life.
The shawl-collared sweaters went on sale at select Macy's stores this week for $98. The OLED device is going for an introductory promotional price of $125 (regularly, it sells for $198).
Durand Guion, Macy's vice president of men's fashion, spotted the Video Name Tag at last year's Consumer Electronics Show and asked Sean Jean to incorporate it into his threads. While the sign's generally been used as a promotional device for businesses, it may be getting a lot more nightlife action now that it's making its way onto consumers. "Just think of all the attention you'll get at the clubs!" reads a Macy's blog promo on the product.
Of course, at said clubs where you'll be getting said attention, you might want to consider taking requests. After all, given the positioning of the display, it's going to be onlookers, and not you, who'll be enjoying (or cringing at) your media lineup most.