But MICA (My Intelligent Communication Accessory) didn’t just boast a luxe sapphire display (and a $500 price tag). It marked the microprocessor giant’s first-ever foray into the fashion world and was the result of months of collaboration between Intel, Opening Ceremony, Barneys, and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

When Intel unveiled the MICA smart bracelet designed with fashion house Opening Ceremony last fall, the news came amid a flood of other, similar announcements. Buzz surrounding the Apple Watch’s high-end accessories had become deafening; Will.i.am announced plans for his own smartwatch.

Ayse Ildeniz, would have to to play mediator between hard-nosed hardware engineers and fashion designers for the better part of a year.

“The fashion industry should be at the driver’s seat, not technology,” Ildeniz says she told her team in early 2014 at the outset of the project. And armed with that mantra and the simple goal that the finished product be beautiful and not “geeky,” Ildeniz and her team set off to prove the world’s largest microchip producer could also be fashion-forward.

Ayse Ildeniz

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