Nokia Phones Strut Their Stuff

Nokia's L'Amour Collection is chic, it's bold, it's fashion. To make a mobile phone a fashion statement requires more than just changing its color. Designers are adding unconventional details to cell phones such as leather trimmings, mirrors, and laser etched designs.

According to Textually, Nokia asked three Dutch designers to convert these already fashionable phones into a more inspired piece of art just in time for Amsterdam's Fashion Week. The results were all very unexpected.

"Mobile phones are like a religion," said Designer Victor de Bie, "always near, always there and they're everywhere." He drew inspiration from this analogy to transform Nokia's 7280 phone into a religious relic.

Jeroen van Tuyl designed the most functional accessory, a black leather case for men. The across the body case can carry a mobile phone, or other gadgets such as a digital camera.

Jan Taminiau took this project a little further by showing how vulnerable phones are by showing what's inside. To do this, he took the back of the phones off, then planted the back exposed phone inside a block of transparent plexi glass. He added loudspeakers to one design, and a band with the Dutch flag to the other.

The pieces made it to the runway, but don't count on these designs ever making it into our hands. Soon we'll see if these artsy modifications inspired actual Nokia phone designers.