I won't berate a fashion column for not going 'I wonder what they were' and then actually researching and finding out that yes, they will be sold to the public and so on.
However, it's interesting that they've been essentially branded as seriously uncool before they've even launched. I wonder if this will lead to someone at Google trying to make them more stylish, or whether they'll hope the target market isn't fussed on fashion and style and it'll spread enough for them to not care.
The start up community tends to operate in a bubble. Wearing something that makes you stand out as 'uncool' and a target for theft is enough to deter people from a product. Take the white ipod ear buds, they were 'cool' enough that most people would were them, however bluetooth handsfree headsets only took off with specific demographics.
"However, it's interesting that they've been essentially branded as seriously uncool before they've even launched."
The minute these were targeted for public release the fashion community's opinion was written in stone: uncool. An indeterminate but large part of the appeal of being in the high fashion world is the exclusivity. If they liked them it would be the kiss of death for seeing massive public uptake.
Not necessarily, it depends on how high in the clouds of high fashion you go. To the consumer level (expensive but not as over the top as some) then there's a trickle down of borrowing styles and themes from the top designers.
Plus something being really exclusive to a certain group of the population can have a massive effect on lust for another group of the population.
However, it's interesting that they've been essentially branded as seriously uncool before they've even launched. I wonder if this will lead to someone at Google trying to make them more stylish, or whether they'll hope the target market isn't fussed on fashion and style and it'll spread enough for them to not care.