LED dresses: New LBDs?
Unless you’ve been living
under the rock for the past decade, you’ve surely had the chance to witness the
abrupt going green, in lack of a better word, movement. And while the whole
deal did take us by surprise given how suddenly and quickly this phenomenon got
wings, it was about time for environmental consciousness to finally become the
topic of both interest and doing!
The moment celebrities
hopped on board and decided living green is the only right way to live, talks
of eco life turned into strong campaigns, encouraging others to go green, too.
And, that’s amazing!
Plenty celebrities are
even spokespeople for raising eco consciousness, basing their eco preaching on
their own lives – Leonardo DiCaprio spent $10 million on New York City pad making it ultra-green; the acclaimed TV journalist Lisa Ling
also made sure her living space is leaving an environmental footprint. Public
figures like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tricia Helfer, Daryl Hannah, Ed Begley Jr. and many more are
supporting the nature, too in their own way. For instance, the
gorgeous Brazil-born supermodel Gisele Bundchen who is a noted environmentalist
reportedly had her staggering 22,000 square feet house designed and upgraded
with as many eco-friendly bells and whistles as possible. This includes
rainwater recycling systems, solar panels, and energy-efficient lighting and
appliances. In fact, speaking on the
topic of sustainable life, the model said that in addition to other
eco-friendly items, LED lighting was an
absolute must for her
house, as it reduces energy consumption and is eco-friendly.
Image credits: www.irishmirror.ie ; modissimo.fr
Unfortunately, exercising their right not to
sacrifice their Hollywood-given gift of lush life, some celebrities,
predominantly ones from the fashion world, are taking green living as a joke it
seems.
What in fashion is hurting the environment?
The new trend in the
world of singers, models, actresses and other crème de la crème personas is
wearing technology. From likes of designers who have been branded “fashion
forward” and “fashion changing”, we’ve seen LED-enhanced dresses, bodysuits and
skirts which, in all honesty, do look great but are such a slap in Mother
Nature’s face. Yes, proper lighting
products such as LED lights are a better choice for anyone who wants to play
Matrix with their creations, but in the long run such abuse of resources can’t
bring anything good.
However,
taught by experience – we know that fashion doesn’t care for anything but the
fashion itself.
Sometime
ago Katy Perry sported a jumpsuit fully laden with LED lights while on her 2014
tour. A year before that, Carrie Underwood wore a LED dress during the 2013
Grammy; the same year as Perry, Ariana Grande performed in a skirt and top that
were covered in LED lights and of course Rihanna, who is a huge fan of wearable
technology, wore a dress which was a combination
of system of compressed gas systems and video capable LED circuits with a
lighting sequence. Probably the most surprising was Nicole Scherzinger’s
Twitter dress that featured 2,000 LED lights and 3,000 Swarovski crystals. The
dress showed tweets in real time.
Image credits: Photo by Sayre Berman www.miaminewtimes.com; fashioningtech.com;
fashioningtech.com
So, we couldn’t help but
wonder whether this trend would just be a jewel in the crown of those who walk
the red carpet or will there be a chance for the average consumer to get their
hands on the dresses.
Interestingly, most
designers have decided to take the LED trend to the more attainable markets. Twinkling
and shining (literally!) dresses, jackets, wedding dresses, shoes, accessorize…
aren’t just for those with deep pockets anymore! Prices of these weird but
awe-striking creations have gone lower than we’ve ever thought they might and
are now not just a dream, but potentially a part of any woman’s wardrobe. Well,
any woman who is fashion-conscious at least. In all honesty, it would come as no surprise if LED became the new LBD.
Image credits: sortir-du-lot.com; fashioningtech.com; www.pinstopin.com
How come that these dresses even came into existence?
The cultural
shift in fashion has been evident for many years now and it was just a matter
of time when young “weird” and “edgy” designers will liberate people’s inner
oddness through the clothes they are making. Everyone is getting a kick from
being “different” and out of the ordinary these days, so the LED clothes may
just be their ticket.
Some companies
have gone to the extent of allowing the wearer to broadcast whatever message
they want on their shirts by texting messages to themselves.
And the psychological impact?
Designers have
defended technologically enhanced clothing as “interactive, allowing emotions
to be spelled out across your chest as well as your face”. As if we didn’t have
emotions before technology hit our lives.
The new era
brought about a very worrying trend where people identify their value with what
they have on their backs. This is absolutely wrong for anyone who is looking to
build a healthy self-worth. I fear that the technologically enhanced clothing
may lead to people losing connection to their human identity and adopt the
robot-like image which may quickly shift from cool to inhuman, and people will get even more confused with
their identities than they already are. Hopefully, this won’t happen.
Author bio:
Zoe Clark is a
home design enthusiast and a fashionista from a land down under. She loves
combining fashion and interior design. You can find her blogging at High Style Life.
