A British fashion designer has teamed up with Microsoft to develop a pair of pants that will charge a phone.
Adrien Sauvage spent six months working on the pants, which are a “wearable chino” with a charging plate from the Nokia DC-50 installed in one of the front pockets, reports The Telegraph.
“My phone is always dying so I was super interested in the idea,” he said.
He took a different approach from other wearable tech designers by moving away from the focus of “function over form.” (RELATED: Ringly Introduces New Wearable Tech)
“Having something that you could wear without the technology feeling cumbersome was a challenge,” Sauvage said. “It was also difficult to distribute the heat so that the wearer wouldn’t feel like they were in a sauna.”
Even if these pants won’t bump up the heat in the summer, they are definitely not machine washable. They’re not cheap, either – Sauvage predicts they will cost more than 200 pounds (about $340).
“We don’t see a mass-market opportunity for wireless-charging trousers,” the head of marketing for project-supporter Nokia Devices said. “We’re just having a bit of a hack, trying to move the wearable technology concept beyond smart watches. This is a world first.”
Though these charging pants probably won’t be huge, Sauvage said technology and clothing will be increasingly integrated.