KEY POINTS:
We've squirted the scents, worn the watches and hankered after the handbags.
Now designers want to add mobile phones to the 2008 list of fashion must-haves with a series of launches to cash in on a multimillion-dollar market.
Dior and Swarovski will be the latest luxury giants to unveil handsets next year, while Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer is expected to be the first timepiece maker to release one early next summer.
Demand for the Apple iPhone, a Christmas favourite for generous gift-givers, is proof of the growing appetite for stylish handsets.
Experts predict that in the next three years non-traditional brands, including fashion designers, will grab 20 per cent of the global market, selling around 200 million handsets a year.
Andrew Harrison, UK chief executive of Carphone Warehouse, said his customers were increasingly buying more than one handset, with around a fifth owning two or more.
"These handsets have different uses: business, going out or even special occasions. We expect this trend to continue." he added.
So far Italian fashion houses have been the quickest to cash in on this trend, with Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Armani all teaming up with manufacturers to design phones that scream form over function.
Despite steep initial price tags, such phones are proving popular.
Prada has sold around 500,000 of its LG phone since its launch last spring, while D&G's limited edition gold MotoRAZR V3i phone for Motorola, clocked up sales of US$256m in 12 months, or around 465,000 phones.
And it isn't just the high-end fashion houses that have spotted the potential for phone collaborations.
Ted Baker, the high street retailer, the denim brand Levi's, the Italian luggage maker Mandarina Duck and even the car company Porsche all launched handsets in time for Christmas.
Fashion and the mobile phone industry first collided two years ago when Motorola's bright pink V3 clamshell was a Christmas bestseller.
Other hits since then have included Cath Kidston's designs for Nokia and Anna Sui's for Samsung.
Analysts believe fashion and mobiles make perfect bedfellows because with a new product every three months, the handset industry is one of the few able to keep pace with the world of fashion.
- THE INDEPENDENT
