British fashion designer Richard Nicoll wanted to create an electric atmosphere at his catwalk show at London Fashion Week this weekend. He did that, in part, by debuting a rechargeable handbag that can power your cell phone.
The cutting-edge accessory merges style with practicality, and gives fashion-conscious cell phone users the freedom to zip between fashion shows and boutiques without worrying that their smartphones will run out of juice.
Designed in conjunction with Vodafone, the battery-powered bag can, when fully charged, provide energy for iPhones, iPads, Androids and BlackBerry devices for several days. Users simply plug their gadget into a discrete pocket inside the bag. A Bluetooth-enable LED “charm” hangs on its exterior, and flashes to indicate incoming calls. The bag itself does not ring, so ushers needn’t worry about asking people to turn off their handbags.