Light-Up Clothing Is Here, And It's Incredible

At this moment in fashion, clothing can fly, compute data, and prevent drone monitoring, so it only seems logical that photosensitivity would be next on the docket. Anrealage designer Kunihiko Morinaga debuted luminescent, photosensitive wares on his Paris Fashion Week runway, causing audiences to reevaluate how beauty and technology intersect.

For those who aren't as well-versed in the verbiage, the term "photosensitivity" refers to the process of a fabric or other substances' attributes mutating as said substance encounters radiation. In simplified terms, Morinaga's Fall 2015 fabrics displayed developing patterns as they were introduced to the heat provided by the runway's ultraviolet lighting sources. The result was a veritable, mind-boggling science experiment in which a completely distinct print emerged on each ensemble as it advanced down the runway.

Morinaga's oversized silhouettes and envelope skirts were novel, but the photosensitivity factor was the collection's truly riveting factor. According to Women's Wear Daily, Morinaga's Chiaroscuro-esque guiding principle was summed up in a simple sentence: “Light up the dark — to see what is not there,” and the description could not have been more fitting for the designer's collection. Though some critics found the collection a bit too conceptual, its artistry and experimental angle was the point — and a poignant one at that.

With spring's focus on vintage silhouettes, sartorial principles, and materials, it is more than enlightening to see such innovative, forward-thinking design on at least one runway. If the rest of 2015 is as avant-garde and boundary-breaking as Anrealage's collection, audiences and style mavens truly have something to look forward to.

Images: Getty Images(2)