Luciferin-Laura Jade Hines

The Luciferin is top on my list because the moment I saw it, I knew I would never forget it. It has the fierceness of a tribal necklace, and the beauty of a queen’s collar. It’s a combination of tulle and laser cut acrylic glass pieces, with a touch of white LEDs and colorful LED sequins. A FLORA microcontroller and accelerometer control the sequins, celebrating the movement of the wearer. It may take up a lot of room on the dance floor, but it certainly deserves the space and attention.

Augmented Skirt-Birce Özkan

I went crazy over this skirt because it mimics a bird’s ability to migrate based on Earth’s magnetic fields. Feathers on the Augmented Skirt gently raise as the wearer walks in a northern direction. The skirt is able to perform this magic with the help of an Arduino Micro, an Adafruit triple axis magnetometer and some servos. It’s nature, whimsy and tech rolled into one. It’s also refreshing, because most people are trained to look at their phones for a compass. This skirt allows you to feel the sensation of motors moving, and also provides an easy visual. Perhaps one day our clothing will guide us.

Divergence-Afroditi Psaraa

Divergence is an EMF (Electromagnetic Field) detecting dress. The idea is to make what is invisible both heard and felt. The dress uses a FLORA microcontroller, and when EMFs are detected, a small vibration motor buzzes in the chest area, while variable tones are heard through the headset. The most interesting feature are the hand made copper antennas located on the cuffs of the dress. Both the craftsmanship and purpose drew me to this piece. As more and more fields surround us daily, this may become a necessary wearable.

Electronic Chimeras of the Deep Sea-Claudia Nunez

Although this is the scarf version of the Electronic Chimera, there are others that take the form of hats and collars. A pulse sensor mounted on the ear blinks LEDs, creating the illusion of a lurking life form. This creature is made of organza, crocheted chains of yarn, laser cut polypropylene and swirled wire. The wearer experiences a strange sensation of becoming socially visible in a place where one would normally feel awkward or invisible. It’s a beautiful use of biofeedback and far more interesting than a fitness band.

Dragonfly-Marty and Robin Lawson (Lumen)

I’m a sucker for electronics arranged in an artistic fashion, and that’s where this piece of jewelry scores. Dragonfly not only looks beautiful with its blinking pattern of tiny surface mount LEDs, but it also powers smartly with the use of solar cells. In fact, it doesn’t even need a battery, as it can be charged by USB when the sun isn’t shining. As power continues to be a struggle for our world, it’s nice to see that people are working with energy harvesting techniques, even in fashion.

Well, that’s it for my list of artists/designers that are on the edge. I hope you have as many ideas dancing in your head as I do. Start sketching your future fashions and then order our FLORA Sensor Pack. You can make your outfit sense, color, light, movement or direction. Then, you can have it trigger lights, sounds or even motors. Make it a new year of learning and smash the trends.

Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!