Luminescent raincoat

Multimedia designer and programmer Elise Co, designed Puddlejumper, a concept that brings light and color to our usually gray and rainy days. These dreary and dark days reflect our mood and the winter is the time of year when they're the most prevalent (for those of us not lucky enough to live in the tropics). Elise decided to solve that problem by creating a luminescent raincoat that glows in the rain. She hand-silkscreened electroluminescent lamps on the front of the jacket, which are wired to water sensors on the back and sleeve. When water hits the sensor, the lights glow and flicker.

Elise created this project in 2004 and there have been some advancements in light-up textiles since then. If designed today, she may replace the EL technology with textile LEDs or Lumalive technology that is available on the market today.

Anouk Wipprecht creates fashion using Lumalive

(image via industrialnation.nl)

Anouk Wipprecht from the Netherlands creates incredibly beautiful garments that will make you drool. Her recent work explores the uses of Lumalive. One of the many beautiful elements of her work is that she takes advantage of the implied gestures in her garments such as pulling a large collar up and over your head for protection or pulling it down around your shoulders for warmth.

What I like about this piece is that she uses these gestures as the interactions that reveal the display. But gestures aren't the only thing that should be considered, there is also context and mode. Imagine the mode a wearer is in when she adjusts the garment. She might be getting ready to go from one place to another when the garment is pulled around the shoulder or up around the head. How could a display help aid in this state? Or perhaps she is at her destination when she drapes it over her shoulders. How might this affect the response and output of the technology?

Illuminating textile madness

(image via Anke Loh)

There seems to be a lot of designers experimenting with fiber optics and Illuminating textiles. Anke Loh is one of my favorites. I love her unusual cuts, multi-layering technique, and her experimentation with technololgy. She had a show recently called Dressing Light, which showcased her explorations with fiber optics and Philip's lumalive technology.

Back in 2006, Suzanne Tick experimented with fiber optic-woven textiles. If you’ve ever worked with fiber optics, they can feel very plastic and stiff. She made her textiles appear to feel soft and flowy.

LumiGram created a line of fiber optic-infused garments called LumiTops aimed toward lounge and club-goers, on the market and available for purchase today.