About
Light-Lace is a light-up article that repurposes a storied bustier (allegedly Paris Hilton’s niche Y2K brand of choice, discovered in a Kensington Market clearance bin on my first weekend in Toronto). In its three programmed states, it goes from default/static, to a warm glow and finally, party mode, corresponding to the wearer’s degree of activity as sensed by the accelerometer on the Circuit Playground Express. Each state is married to a defined spectrum of movement, from perfectly static to uninhibited swaying. Designed, with a bricolage-scrapbook sort of aesthetic expression, to appeal to Sandy Liang understanders: “The only thing that ever inspired me was my iPhone photos and nostalgic items. I tried to express that a lot in the beginning, and nobody really got it”, as the designer puts it. I intend to wear it to the New Year’s Eve party hosted in the living room of my childhood friend back home.
Wearability Criteria
Aesthetics/Fashion
Product Expression
Novelty
Gallery
Project Context
Sparke Skirt by Erin St. Blain
This project served as inspiration to the lighting pattern of the experiment, particularly the second: motion-sensing ‘twinkle mode’ that became the spine of the Party Mode on my model, then branching out.
The legacy of Sailor Moon is an immense beast. Its creator, Naoko Takeuchi, was well-versed in haute couture, painstakingly rendering the costumes of each hero and villain with deep-cut references to late 80s, early 90s Italian and French fashion, pulling looks from the runways into the anime to service the fantastical world of outer-space girl-vigilantes thematically.
The ribbon laced through my corset is a nod to the big red bow that rests on Luna’s chest.
This is harder to articulate, but there’s a growing Kewpie Baby/Sonny Angel subculture among a certain branch of the alternative stick-and-poke tattooed soft-punks. Maybe it is idea of the vulnerable, ‘kawaii’ baby as a canvas for self-expression that has caused the explosion in their popularity.
Sandy Liang
Liang’s Fall 2023 collection became a watershed movement for the formerly cult brand for chic Brooklynites, propelling her to international label success. The eponymous brand draws on a nostalgia for girlhood, updating elevated wardrobe basics with unexpected feminine flourishes.
Parts
- Thrifted bodice
- Five sewable neopixels, Adafruit Flora RGB Smart NeoPixel version 2
- Circuit Playground Express
- AAA battery pack
- White machine-lace ribbon, 2 inch
- Red sheer satin ribbon, eighth of an inch
- Gold-tone grommets, quarter inch
- Conductive thread, 2-ply stainless steel
Circuit Diagram
Code
Link to Github.
Any supporting sketches, diagrams, models, renderings
Challenges & Successes
Design considerations
I wanted to explore light as the boning for corset, which felt logical because boning is rigid and structured — but it would require a lot more prototyping than I had time to execute. Thus, I pivoted to an asymmetric splatter of light along the bust.
Code being erratic
Defining three thresholds for distinct lighting states was harder than it seemed on paper. The lights are supposed to be acting in perfect cohesion in each mode except the Party, but I can never get them to do the same thing at the same time. Trial and error, rinse and repeat may be the only solution to this end.
Next Steps
The code! The code must be smoother, more elegant and responsive.
The grommets are robust enough provide opportunity for adding more charms and hardware to the bustier: beading may allow the light to be refracted in interesting, unexpected ways. I also want to incorporate wire-wrapping and chain-link to make it more sculptural, like a wearable journal.
Bibliography
Blain, Erin St. “Sparke Skirt.” Adafruit. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://learn.adafruit.com/sparkle-skirt-playground
Cooking with the Hamster. “Naoko Takeuchi and Sailor Moon: High Fashion Inspirations.” Accessed December 3, 2023. https://en.cookingwiththehamster.com/naoko-takeuchi-and-sailor-moon-high-fashion-inspirations
Nylon. “How Sonny Angel Became Gen Z’s Darling.” Accessed December 3, 2023. https://www.nylon.com/life/how-sonny-angel-became-gen-z-darling
Liang, Sandy. “Sandy Liang: The Designer Talks Downtown Uniform and More.” Harper’s Bazaar. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/a42842431/sandy-liang-downtown-uniform-interview-profile/