Hewlett-Packard Models Strut Stuff at New York Fashion Week

Last month's New York Fashion Week featured lots of skinny models wearing outrageously expensive clothes, but there was one event called "Your Life Is the Show" that was more everyone's style.

The designer was Hewlett-Packard, and the hot models walking the runway were its hot gadgets. They were sexy and chic — and wouldn't make anyone feel fat.

About 1,000 people were at the gala: lots of technical folk, HP customers, celebrities and journalists.

• Click here to watch Courtney Friel's video report.

HP was debuting more than 55 products, including mobile devices, software programs, services and almost 3 dozen handheld accessories. The company was also showcasing its new colorful home/business desktops and notebook PCs.

Fashion designer Naeem Khan used his clothing as an inspiration to design creative laptop skins. The profits go to charity.

There were also the 42 x 47-inch MediaSmart TV, which merges the TV and PC and streams digital photos, music and videos stored on a PC onto a hi-definition LCD display, as well as an 8-inch digital picture frame that has internal stereo speakers.

The showpiece, however, was HP's personalized gaming powerhouse, the Blackbird 002.

Jonathan Roubini, editor-in-chief of LabReviews.com, explained that HP is finally moving into the gaming-PC arena. With the Blackbird, the company can successfully compete with the popular Dell XPS line.

Roubini loved the slick case design, the sealed liquid system to cool the processor and the easy-to-use hard-drive trays. Unfortunately, the price tag is $5,000.

To help present the new collection, HP brought in its "Achievers," including tennis champ Serena Williams, supermodel Petra Nemcova, Olympic snowboarding gold medalist Shaun White and the Paul Teutul, Sr. and his son Paul Teutul, Jr., from Orange County Choppers, as featured on the Discovery Channel show "American Chopper."

Williams, who is starring in an HP commercial, said she was very tech-savvy.

"I'm always traveling overseas and always use my computer to stay in touch with my friends and family and things like that," the tennis champ explained, "so I'm really making the computer personal."

Nemcova said she also stays current on gadgets.

"I always want to have the best items, the newest items, the ones which are more practical and can help me in my life to do things in an easy way," said the supermodel.

The Teutuls were there with a chopper they had designed. Paul Sr. joked that his only use for computers was to shop on eBay, but in fact Orange County Choppers uses HP technology in the bike shop.

Paul Jr. explained that it was much easier now to convey his designs to the technical people, instead of through his old way — drawing on napkins.

HP teamed up with MTV for an ongoing global competition called "Take Action, Make Art." Contest entrants are encouraged to submit their own art on subjects they were passionate about.

The deadline is Oct. 17 — click here to enter.

Since Shaun White designs his own boards and helmets, etc, they've asked him to be one of the judges. He said he's not sure what he'll be looking for in the best cover, because he has a very unique style of his own.

The winner's design will be imprinted on a special-edition batch of notebook computers, an item just as original and in style as a Marc Jacobs sequined tunic — yet more practical!