Google’s Project Jacquard returns on an Yves Saint Laurent backpack strap, for $880

Google’s Project Jacquard — the company’s touch-sensitive fabric technology — is making a surprise return today with the announcement of a second product using the tech: the Cit-E smart backpack, built in collaboration with luxury fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent, that features a touch-sensitive shoulder strap for controlling a connected smartphone (as spotted by Charged).

Like the first Jacquard-powered product, the Levi’s smart jacket, the Cit-E backpack is powered by a removable “tag” that houses the battery and internal hardware. Once paired with a phone, you’ll be able to control things using four gestures on the touch-sensitive area on the front of the left shoulder strap: swipe up, swipe down, double tap, and covering it up.

Otherwise, it seems the functionality is the same as offered with the original Levi’s jacket — which is to say mostly music control, Google Maps navigation pings, and some light notification abilities.

As for the bag itself, it appears to be a fairly nice bag, which is more or less what you’d expect from Yves Saint Laurent. The exterior shell is made of nylon, with a canvas lining on the inside, along with a few internal pockets (one meant for a cell phone and another larger, padded pocket that’s likely meant for a laptop or tablet).

Unfortunately, if you’re interested in getting a smart backpack for yourself, there is a catch: Yves Saint Laurent branding means you’re paying Yves Saint Laurent pricing, which in this case comes out to €795, or roughly $877, which is a wildly expensive amount of money to spend on a bag, Project Jacquard technology or not.

If you are willing to pay that kind of cash, though, the Cit-E backpack is available to preorder from Yves Saint Laurent’s website now, with a promise to ship no later than October 15th.