Still in my catch up mode to hunt down interesting material for talk2myShirt I literally stumbled upon a beautiful textile dress made by Chung-Hay Luk and presented at the eTextile and Wearable Computing Showcase last May, the Sound Illuminating Dress.
The Sound Illuminating Dress is a cleverly designed strapless dress which made the technology involved part of the style decision. Part of the dress is kept in dark fabric while the other part containing EL (electroluminescent) wire at the seam is made from light, white color which wraps in an irregular shape around the front.
The light effect is activated by ambient sound picked up from a microphone. Instead of flashing the light Chung-Hay Luk choose to have a subtle, sophisticated, pulsating light intensity change in the rhythm of life music.
Watch the short video clip below you be surprised.
I have not been a big fan of EL wire designs up to now but seeing Chung-Hay Luk’s design I have to revise my low opinion about EL wire in garments – it’s a matter of aesthetic design understanding what a material can deliver.