so, understandably, i came to montréal for chi. in the midst of the first day, i (with desperate passion) knew my mission here was to imbue this massive congregation of interaction technologists with a little bit of style. i mean, what else to do? and thus i present:

the first annual CHI fashion report

a live and downright improvisational adventure through the minds and wardrobes of the international bestest and brightest. each day of the conference i will scope out some of the more strikingly dressed, and plaster them here for their fine stylistic due.

i warmed up with a favourite...



vincent leclerc, mit media lab.

i caught him this morning in a fetching, if not downright eye-scorching, hothot pink shirt from haight-ashbury, layered over an american apparel *neon* yellow tshirt. (apparently he also picked up matching neon underwear. i took his word.) the ensemble was prompted by an unexpected loss of luggage by air canada yesterday, en route from boston to montréal. quelle horreur! vincent, an alum of local concordia university, prefers to shop at the local designer wares at les cours mont-royal. what fuels his look? lots of colours, unadulteratedly saturated. yow!

up next, a well-clad duo, waiting in anticipation for the opening ceremonies, i.e. an enormous lot of mass-produced free, salty, sweet food...



on the left we have galen scorer, manager of the habitat new media lab at the canadian film centre in toronto; on the right is faisal anwar, a recent former grad at habitat.

together, chatting, clad in neat jeans and fitted tops, i knew there was something simmering under the surface. galen confessed that he frequently shops his style at the discount rack at guess, and also scours the digs on ever-hip queen street. faisal, not to be outdone, plunks his hard-earned cash at french connection, queen street, and at sheido. faisal admits he takes a very, very long time to deliberate on clothing choice ("it takes me even longer than my wife"), and he approaches a 'thoughtful' fashion philosophy by investing in a few clothing pieces of utmost quality that he wears constantly. galen likens his wardrobe to "conservative... with a twist!", and realises that he probably is in some sort of urban cowboy, post brokeback mountain kind of aesthetic. when asked to comment on the CHI fashion scene, galen responds, "oh, hey, at least it's better than siggraph". well said, boys. well said.

onto the reception in the big circus tent...

who is this beauty all in black?



why, it's christine satchell of university of melbourne!

she recently completed her ph.d. (w00t!) and not only looks great in a belted black dress (her "generic black conference" dress, she laments), but also works on technologically enhanced koalas (aw) and the swarm project with sony CSL. perhaps we crossed paths at last year's siggraph fashion show! in melbourne, she lurves shopping at shag and other vintage stores, and is dying to peruse the shops up and down la rue de st. denis here in montréal. what's her look? definitely eclectic. shine on, christine!

peeking through the crowd appears a pretty pair of coloured blossoms.



hallo to cuties rikke dam of denmark and aviaja hansen of the interaction institute of sweden!

rikke, on the left, loves the affordably awesome style of vila, and definitely recommends strøget and the latin quarter in aarhus, 2nd largest city in denmark. aviaja, on the right, keeps her newly pregs self under wraps in a blossoming dress by inbuM, and goes to town in gothenberg, 2nd largest city in sweden. (coincidence?) these girls keep smiling, and laughingly agree that the style factor of CHI definitely has some room for improvement. (hear that, polo + khakis boy?)

and finally, le créme du jour:



everyone's favourite matching set of the day, nick bryan-kinns of department of computer science at queen mary, university of london and jennifer sheridan at the computing department of lancaster university.

blindingly fabulous in white suiting head-to-toe, with rakishly daring caps and dark ascots, nick and jennifer turned heads at every conference-clad corner. nick, who is hosting hci 2006, defines his style as "whatever's clean" and "better than wearing underwear", and acquires a stellar wardrobe from the dalston district of london. jennifer, hosting digital live art, prefers to get her goods at op-shops like the salvation army and other secondhand purveyors. as to what she defines her fashion philosophy as, she simply responds, "yes." i'm sure we'll be seeing more dramatic dressings of this dashing duo.

stay tuned for more exciting, hot-off-the-escalator fashion news, straight from the palais du congrès in montreal! your source of exclusive style and shopping tips from the HCI pros.

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dîner fantastique au le pistou, avec medialabbies au jus.




zut, alors! la mort par le chocolat.