For this studio, Smart Fashion, we looked at creative ways to incorporate technology with fashion. We all believe that as new forms of technology are invented, technology will become more prevalent in fashion.

Our group decided to make a very fashionable skirt, shirt and clutch that all lit up with LEDs and fiber optics. The two biggest tasks we faced were designing the actual clothing from scratch and programming the lights. GoodWill was a resource we used to get fabric to experiment with. After making a prototype of the skirt using an older skirt from GoodWill, we decided to use this as our actual model because it came out very well. We ended up adding onto this original skirt and using it for our final product. The prototype was made for an underlayer of stiff material to hold the LED lights. Once we finished hemming and sizing the underlayer and sewing on LED lights to the rim of the skirt we added tulle. This added more volume and shape to the skirt. Next, we wanted to cover the tulle with a transparent black fabric for a more high fashion look. Finally we added a purple trim around the waist with a big bow on the back for a cleaner and more attractive look.

We used an arduino chip to program our skirt. Using various codes, the skirt was programmed to light up. In the end, the lights that we programmed changed colors based on the sound responsive microphone chip on the back of the skirt. We programmed the lights to fluxuate colors based on the decibels around the microphone. The microphone was based off of the clutch purse that was created after the skirt. The clutch had two speakers in it and produced sound at a high volume. We laser cut all the material for the clutch. When the clutch was turned on, it played music causing the skirt to light up in tune with the rhythm of the song.

In the end the project turned out very well. We were all very happy with our final result, and we enjoyed displaying our work in the final fashion show.As time goes on, we are all excited to see how technology is going to play a bigger role in fashion. At the Grammys, Carrie Underwood wore a dress that was programmed similarly to ours. It was exciting to see that our theory of technology beginning to play a bigger role is really coming true.