The killer collaboration between fashion and tech stretches far beyond supermodels on smartphones. In honor of New York Fashion Week this week, we're celebrating some of our favorite tech-outfitted items, from LED-adorned dresses to the most fabulous geek-toe shoes around. Some will cost you a pretty penny, while others exist only in movies, but they're all fun to gawk at. Which is your favorite?
As Maker Faire enthusiasts, we love any display of technology-laden craft products. This Lite-Brite DIY by Haley of The Zen of Making has us dreaming of warm Summer nights watching fireflies — with a digital twist, of course. Take one LED light embroidery kit, add Haley's own free firefly embroidery pattern (complete with a mason jar to catch them), and include some finger magic for a wall hanging that'll make both your grandmother and cool computer professor proud.
Head over to The Zen of Making for the pattern!
In The Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta are dressed to impress in black unitard suits that are lit "on fire" with synthetic flames. While that kind of wear may be suitable for Panem, it may not be as well-received in the real world. A good substitution? LED lights. LED fashion is old hat for our time, as we've seen all kinds of iterations, from dresses to suits. Check out some of our favorite "on fire" fashions from years' past and get ready for The Hunger Games, which premieres this Friday!
Photo courtesy of Lionsgate
Bocce ball is widely regarded in certain circles as a "yuppie" sport, mostly because you can hold your glass of vino or icy cold pint of beer and still play like a pro. It's also great for seniors. But this LED-lit Bocce Ball set ($100) takes the game to a whole new level. Coming in sets of eight — two each of red, blue, yellow, and green — along with the regulation white pallino, each ball comes with interchangeable lights so you can keep playing well into the Summer eve, or turn them off for earlier matches.
I can't think of a better way to spend a warm night with friends than drinking a pale ale and tossing flashing LED balls across a rocky slab of dirt. Heaven, indeed.
Katy Perry showed off her toned legs and geeky style at last night's Costume Institute Gala — her dress, designed by tech fashion duo Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz from CuteCircuit, was infused with 24,000 LED bulbs. This isn't the first time we've seen technology woven into the fabric of fashion, and CuteCircuit is definitely no stranger to this practice itself — its Galaxy Dress is currently being shown off in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and its Bluetooth-enabled Hug Shirt was named one of the best inventions of 2006 by Time Magazine.
Although Katy didn't need an electrical outlet to activate her gown once the lights came down, she told UK's Daily Mail that she did have a hidden power switch located somewhere on her dress — in her bra!
Hold on to your hats, nerds — a company called Roundtable Concepts is launching their own line of Marvel-branded LCD and LED HDTVs that will arrive styled in classic Marvel comic book characters like Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Fantastic Four, and more. Ranging in sizes from 22" to 46", these TV sets will have your choice of superhero embellished on the bottom corners of the set, but it's when you power it on that all the magic happens — an image of your character (and their name) will flash across the screen for about 8 seconds.
Find out more (including the price!) after the break.
If it's your office or living room that gets all the geeky attention, and you're looking to expand your horizons, check out your kitchen. Is it geeked-out enough for you? If not, try a few of these geeky kitchen gadgets on for size.
I've mentioned this keyboard briefly before, but its worth revisiting. The Luxeed U5 Dynamic Pixel LED Keyboard ($150) comes in white or black and lights each key individually with colored LED lights in your choice of color. It also comes with a few preset options (like the full rainbow of keys in the image) and has four customizable preset buttons to allow for easily switching between design choices.
The keyboard doesn't require any software and works with any computer, so plug it in, program your favorite colors, dim the lights, and enjoy!
