When it comes to fashion, the trickle-down effect is still very much the rule. Styles that are first seen on the runways of Paris and the red carpets of Hollywood gradually make their way down to the masses.
However, when it comes to LED clothing, the latest fad to take over the fashion world, one company is trying to speed up that process, bringing LED, light-up clothes to the masses. Electric Styles, founded in 2010, is an LED clothing company that wants everyone to be able to enjoy the fun that comes along with illuminated apparel.
In an interview with Digital Trends, Nick Kneuper, Electric Styles’ CEO, noted that the innovation behind LED clothing came from the EDM and music festival scene, an environment Kneuper considers a breeding ground for fashion-forward thinking. “If you want to see where fashion is heading two-to-three years from now,” he told DT, “Go to a music festival.”
Kneuper also wants to ensure that he is designing for the demographic and the wallet size of the average festival attendee. Whereas other LED clothing companies like CuteCircuit and Switch Embassy “are geared more towards high-end fashion,” Kneuper notes that Electric Styles is “focused on making affordable, mass market LED clothing” that is still innovative, creative, and fun.
“Our goal at Electric Styles is to create clothing that looks great during the day and is jaw-dropping at night,” Kneuper said. And while LED clothing may have begun as a niche style for the EDM scene, Kneuper believes that by developing better clothing and finding new, creative ways to integrate light and technology into that clothing, the future is bright for companies like Electric Styles.
“I can imagine a future where I only have one shirt in my closet and I choose what pattern or color it is from my phone,” Kneuper said of his hopes for the evolution of LED clothes. “However, it will be years before anything like this is sold to the general public.” But with visions like these, fashion may be taking a giant leap forward in the next few years.