Designers dream of electric dresses at Paris Fashion Week

An odd 'Ghost in the Shell' movie and couture event, in photos

Reporter

UpdatedThu, March 9, 2017 at 5:00 PM UTC

In the middle of Paris Fashion Week, Ghost in the Shell "Prototype" (hosted by Paramount Pictures and Tumblr) aimed to show off cutting-edge fashion that makes use of technology. Weirdly, the event actually didn't have much to do with the movie at all, other than trying to demonstrate how humans can enhance themselves via smart clothing, much like in Ghost in the Shell's fictional near future.

Rather, it gave us an up-close look at the future of couture, including Intel's Adrenaline dress that gets "upset" when you do, a "smart coat" that warms you up with infrared tech and fabrics that can sense the amount of air pollution. The showcase was provocative, and designers were excited to work with the new creative formats offered by wearable tech, but it also demonstrated why wired-up clothes aren't quite ready for prime time.

Chromat is on the forefront of using electronics to sense and express how the wearer feels. The company has now developed bioluminescent garments with LEDs and built-in sensors.

"There are so many exciting things coming out of the fashion/technology convergence," Chromat CEO and designer Becca McCharen tells Engadget. "I want to make clothes that do work for the body ... that can respond and adapt as you move through the day. I want garments that function as tools as well."

The EMIL+ARIS coat, meanwhile, uses "far infrared technology" to warm the muscles of the wearer. The team says this can improve circulation and help "the wearer's whole body to feel warm."

Another badass outfit from Chromat and Becca McCharon. *i-D magazine* described the ensemble as "*Bladerunner* meets Helmut Newton with serious cybernetic embellishments." It uses wearable semiconductor light sources in the circular cups, bodice and straps. Comfortable? Probably not, but that's not the point.

As far as electronic wearables go, CuteCircuit is best known for its Twitter Dress, which displays messages from your feed. Here's the latest number, with a matching purse that can also blink out your messages.

Unfortunately this dress wasn't working during the *Ghost in the Shell* event, and the 3D-printed material is not exactly comfortable.

"There are so many things that need to improve," says Chromat's McCharen. "There's an opportunity to improve the wires and electronics. They're constantly snapping and coming apart. I think conductive fabrics [which carry electricity on their own] are an exciting development in that realm."

This shirt uses an aerochromic dye that changes from black to white when the pollution air quality index (AQI) hits 60 (moderate). The pattern built into the shirt fully emerges in the unhealthy red-zone AQI of around 160.

"Aerochromic shirts will ensure your safety in traversing our cities by warning you of harmful pollutants and radiation surrounding you," the company says. Hopefully, our planet won't be the garbage-strewn landscape depicted in the original 1995 *Ghost in the Shell*.

Latvian singer Viktoria Modesta is the "world's first bionic pop star," having lost her leg in 2007 due to complications from childhood health conditions. With a light-up prosthetic leg, she performed her hit "Prototype," which inspired the name and theme of Paramount's *Ghost in the Shell* event.

"Disability and sexuality or high achievements don’t often go together -- not when it comes to stuff outside of sports or fetish," she told *BuzzFeed* in 2014. "I don’t think that’s right."

Viktoria Modesta worked with the Alternative Limb Project on five prosthetic lower limbs, the Brass, Stereo, Light, Spike and Crystal, made with Swarovski crystals and rhinestones.

For her performance at *Ghost in the Shell* "Prototype," she used the Light model, with LED illumination, simulated shinbones and a light-up matching shoe.

Modesta is also a member of the Director's Fellows Program at MIT, created to "expand the diversity, reach and impact of the Media Lab." She was selected for her "forward-thinking" work with the Alternative Limb Project and groundbreaking work in music and fashion, particularly the idea of "challenging society's modern perception of physical beauty."

1 / 7

Chromat dress and top with EMEL+ARIS coat

Chromat is on the forefront of using electronics to sense and express how the wearer feels. The company has now developed bioluminescent garments with LEDs and built-in sensors.

"There are so many exciting things coming out of the fashion/technology convergence," Chromat CEO and designer Becca McCharen tells Engadget. "I want to make clothes that do work for the body ... that can respond and adapt as you move through the day. I want garments that function as tools as well."

The EMIL+ARIS coat, meanwhile, uses "far infrared technology" to warm the muscles of the wearer. The team says this can improve circulation and help "the wearer's whole body to feel warm."

About our ads

Trending:

Designers dream of electric dresses at Paris Fashion Week

An odd 'Ghost in the Shell' movie and couture event, in photos

Chromat dress and top with EMEL+ARIS coat

Follow Us