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American Morning

Fashion House Designs Clothes With E-Mail Address

Aired April 16, 2001 - 09:57   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Asking someone for a date -- I know you've been out of the game a little while, but let me explain this to you -- sometimes takes a lot of nerve to do, especially if it's on impulse after you maybe just see somebody across the room or across the street.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK, thank you for that expertise. I'll take notes.

KAGAN: You've been out of the game for just a little bit.

HARRIS: But I don't need that kind of help anymore because the Internet is offering some help.

Our report now from CNN's Andrew Brown, in Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Have you you seen anyone out there paying close attention to people's shoes, following them around, and taking mysterious notes? They may not be as weird as you think.

More and more people now want to communicate with each other through their clothes. The fashion house skim.com has devised conspicuous six-digit codes that appear on the company's apparel as well as other brands. Each one is an e-mail address that has been registered in skim's Web site. This one would be 001956@skim.com, for instance. When you spot someone with a skim outfit, you instantly know where to write to them. But -- and this is the fun part -- you have no idea who they are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People don't really know your name at the beginning. I mean, for example, if you go on the street, people see your number, and then they can actually go back home and mail the message or whatever to you through the number. And it's, like, a stranger.

BROWN (on camera): The great thing about this concept is if you're shy and you want to ask a girl out, all you have to is look at her personalized number and send her an e-mail. It's the best way to set up a date, and skim guys are irresistible.

(voice-over): Last year, Zurich-based skim achieved revenues of about $800,000 in Europe, its main market. In the big skim of things, that's not a lot. But the company is also building a presence in North America and in Asia, at stores like this one, in Hong Kong. And even though it will probably take awhile before interactive fashions take off, they may eventually change the way people look at clothes.

Andrew Brown, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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