Making a Case for Gadgets

As technology changes, so does the way we carry it. Calendars and Filofaxes are rapidly going the way of the typewriter as more and more people turn to electronic organizers and hand-held computers to e-mail, fax, keep dates and make appointments. And this new generation of personal gadgets is giving birth to a whole new breed of carrying cases.

Coach, the New York-based luggage and handbag designer, is one of a handful of companies manufacturing such accessories. Its latest offering is a leather zip-around case for a Palm Pilot organizer, one of the first such cases we have seen.

The Palm Pilot case is the logical extension of the planners people have carried for years, says Reed Krakoff, executive vice president and creative director of Coach. “In the past, our personal organizers have been agendas and planners. But as the consumer’s lifestyle has changed, so have the items they need cases for.”

Coach also makes a CD-ROM case and a CD case that can be worn over the shoulder.

But other luggage companies have been slower at upgrading their offerings. Handbag designer Kate Spade debuted a black-nylon laptop computer carrier last fall, but hasn’t made a cell phone or organizer case--yet. “So many people have been asking us for those,” reports Tiffany Wheat, manager of the Kate Spade store on Robertson Boulevard.

Likewise, an employee at the Louis Vuitton store in the Beverly Center said she tried to special order a Palm organizer case for a customer a few months ago and received no response from the company.

With Nicole Miller’s jaunty patterns already adorning ties, umbrellas and eyeglass cases, she seems a natural to make electronic gadget cases. But Meredith Wollins, managing director of publicity and advertising for Nicole Miller, says, “The most modern thing we have is a 01/00/00 millennium print.”

Gucci produces some of the only upscale cell phone cases for evening. They are encrusted in rhinestones and sequins. Prada’s line of black nylon accessories includes CD cases, computer bags and cell phone cases, as well as wristbands for jogging.

And who knows? With the rise of utilitarian chic for spring, more designers may soon get plugged into the technological revolution.