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Thursday, October 13, 2022
Be The Star Of The Evening With This Light Up Prom Dress
Hackaday: [Kellechu] went full parent beast mode by creating a prom dress for her daughter. This incredible build is a tour-de-force of DIY crafting, combining sewing, electronics, 3D printing and programming.
If the theater has proved anything it is that there is this really amazing overlap between technology and art. Electronics and fashion design have to meet in order to create this masterpiece. The idea of a light up prom dress also opens doors for costume lines incorporating technology to enhance the designers work or to act as a symbiotic relationship. I see a lot of opportunities for this technology in shows that have underwater, flashback, dream or, fantasy scenes as well as shows that are set in the future. The idea that clothes aren't just made out of fabric but there can be other materials used to enhance that fabric is an idea that I feel most designers should embrace and try using non traditional materials to create something new and incredible. This dress also shows what fiber optics are capable of both in fashion in in theater Theo
Honestly, one of the things I am most grateful for having gained over the course of my time doing theatre is the ability to take on similar cross-disciplinary projects like this. Especially now that I feel a little more comfortable with arduino, at least to the extent that I could probably take someone else's work and make it work for similar projects.
The bit about dulling the needle to not damage the fiber optic fabric was something I hadn't considered. but it makes sense that you want to cause as little damage to the fiber optics as possible so that you are getting maximum distribution of light across the garment. I think the coolest thing about garments like this is that, if the base color of the fabric is white, then you would be able to use the light to dye the fabric to essentially any color. Obviously very impractical to wear something like this as anything other than an art piece. But the cyberpunk lover in me just wants more LEDs in general.
This is so camp I kind of love it. I do wonder about comfort level and practicality (is this a fire hazard??), but it seems like a more interesting use of money than a giant Sherri Hill overpriced $1000 ballgown never to be worn again. The creativity is definitely here, I only hope her prom theme is something along the lines of Star Wars or Enchanted Forest. The explanation of all the technology in this article somewhat went over my head but I do appreciate the thought and time that went into this project. I’m sure some production manager scouring the internet on how to implement this into their production would be really grateful at the end of the day. I hope that people take some reaction videos of this teenager’s prom, or that there is a really dramatic reveal on the dance floor in front of their peers.
Those who know me know that I am absolutely for combining technology with costume design and every day fashion. When it comes to the fiber optic five fabric this is something I’ve actually looked into quite a bit and I found that it tends to be really expensive and I mean really expensive But it’s absolutely stunning when it’s used well. I’ve also tried to make my own fiber optic fabric and let’s just say that is really difficult and I definitely understand why it’s so expensive to begin with. Incorporating fiber optics into formalwear is truly stunning. It creates this glittering effect unlike anything else because it’s made with light rather than reflective materials. this is some thing that I keep holding onto in my back pocket for some future project because through my experimentation I have figured out how to manipulate the fiber optics and get them to work in certain ways and I’m really hoping that someday I can apply this to a a big project.
4 comments:
If the theater has proved anything it is that there is this really amazing overlap between technology and art. Electronics and fashion design have to meet in order to create this masterpiece. The idea of a light up prom dress also opens doors for costume lines incorporating technology to enhance the designers work or to act as a symbiotic relationship. I see a lot of opportunities for this technology in shows that have underwater, flashback, dream or, fantasy scenes as well as shows that are set in the future. The idea that clothes aren't just made out of fabric but there can be other materials used to enhance that fabric is an idea that I feel most designers should embrace and try using non traditional materials to create something new and incredible. This dress also shows what fiber optics are capable of both in fashion in in theater
Theo
Honestly, one of the things I am most grateful for having gained over the course of my time doing theatre is the ability to take on similar cross-disciplinary projects like this. Especially now that I feel a little more comfortable with arduino, at least to the extent that I could probably take someone else's work and make it work for similar projects.
The bit about dulling the needle to not damage the fiber optic fabric was something I hadn't considered. but it makes sense that you want to cause as little damage to the fiber optics as possible so that you are getting maximum distribution of light across the garment.
I think the coolest thing about garments like this is that, if the base color of the fabric is white, then you would be able to use the light to dye the fabric to essentially any color. Obviously very impractical to wear something like this as anything other than an art piece. But the cyberpunk lover in me just wants more LEDs in general.
This is so camp I kind of love it. I do wonder about comfort level and practicality (is this a fire hazard??), but it seems like a more interesting use of money than a giant Sherri Hill overpriced $1000 ballgown never to be worn again. The creativity is definitely here, I only hope her prom theme is something along the lines of Star Wars or Enchanted Forest. The explanation of all the technology in this article somewhat went over my head but I do appreciate the thought and time that went into this project. I’m sure some production manager scouring the internet on how to implement this into their production would be really grateful at the end of the day. I hope that people take some reaction videos of this teenager’s prom, or that there is a really dramatic reveal on the dance floor in front of their peers.
Those who know me know that I am absolutely for combining technology with costume design and every day fashion. When it comes to the fiber optic five fabric this is something I’ve actually looked into quite a bit and I found that it tends to be really expensive and I mean really expensive But it’s absolutely stunning when it’s used well. I’ve also tried to make my own fiber optic fabric and let’s just say that is really difficult and I definitely understand why it’s so expensive to begin with. Incorporating fiber optics into formalwear is truly stunning. It creates this glittering effect unlike anything else because it’s made with light rather than reflective materials. this is some thing that I keep holding onto in my back pocket for some future project because through my experimentation I have figured out how to manipulate the fiber optics and get them to work in certain ways and I’m really hoping that someday I can apply this to a a big project.
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