Electronic Fashions - Rhyme and Reason LED Dresses (GALLERY)

This mystical collection of LED illuminated fashions was created by Mary Huang, a Design/Media Arts student at UCLA. She includes a ‘brilliantly’ designed scarf and a dress, both made from white cotton jersey and hand crocheted flowers. Huang explains that “in a successful piece, the design must outshine the technology.” The jersey is a perfect material to diffuse the light of about two dozen LEDs, producing a softly glowing organic effect.

Huang comments, “I think the crucial part in the electronic fashion market that is missing right now is a high-class ready-to-wear segment. We see a lot of gadget-based sportswear (iPod jackets and such) and a number of conceptual pieces that are really not wearable out in the real world. In fashion terms, what exists now is like L.L.Bean versus Jean Paul Gaultier without the in between market of brands like Guess or DKNY.”

When not being worn Huang says, “The pieces double in function as lamps, avoiding the fate of hanging neglected in a closet.” Each piece is powered by interchangeable wall or battery power.

The Rhyme and Reason designs have been further enhanced by the stunning photography of Michael Sun.