Viral Style: LED Tinkerbell Dresses and Hyperlapse Design Footage At London Fashion Week

Last week Viral Style covered the amazing tech-enhanced designs of New York Fashion Week. But Charlotte McManus, our future fashion columnist, is UK-based—so how could we not cover London Fashion Week, too? Below, check out some innovative projects that popped up on runways on the opposite side of the Atlantic.

Richard Nicoll’s sports chic S/S15 range included a beautiful example of just how good wearable tech can look in a high-fashion format, taking the form of an illuminated ‘Tinker Bell’ dress. Made in partnership with London-based Studio XO, (who we made a documentary on this past spring), the slip was crafted from a lightweight fibre-optic fabric embedded with high-intensity LEDs, which created a glittering pixie dust effect in the darkened room. Definitely a case of fashion over function—but who says all wearable tech needs to be practical?

House of Holland teamed up with fashion tech company Metail (you know, the folk who made that virtual Clueless wardrobe recently?) to create a whole new way for non-FROW-ers to get closer to the catwalk. On the Metail site, fans could watch the HOH’s S/S15 show live, before making their own customised MeModel avatar to ‘try on’ (and even pre-order) garments from the runway in real-time. Using personal measurements for height, weight and bra size, Metail claim that MeModels are within 96% accurate of the user’s real body. This is (laze)e-commerce at its best—love it.

Following last season’s successful collab with Nokia, design duo Fyodor Golan teamed up with Microsoft to give their S/S15 show an extra tech edge. Lumia 830 and 930 smartphones were used to project live images on an inverted pyramid screen in the centre of the catwalk, creating a new visual dimension to the runway experience.

As the designers put it: “Our S/S15 season collection is an expression of modernity and youthful romance in the digital age. We wanted to translate fast-paced visual language onto ready-to-wear items that translate that vision.”

We’ve written about the rise of selfie-themed accessories a fair bit in the past—but man, this one takes the cake. For LFW, designer Christian Cowan-Sanluis collaborated with tech brand Acer on what has to be the most OTT accessory ever meant to go on a head—meet The Selfie Hat. A huuuuge glittering hot pink shape comes complete with a pouch that can accommodate an Acer A1-840 tablet to take selfies with, and can also spin around the head 360-degrees to capture the wearer from every angle. There is also a limited-edition tablet case to go with, featuring its own mini detachable hat. Because hey, you’ve come this far.

Among the buzz surrounding Apple’s newly-revealed smartwatch, Samsung decided to unveil their latest gadget too (canny or crazy? You decide), having partnered with Diesel Black Gold to create fashion-conscious pieces featuring the new Samsung Gear S. Inspired by New Wave rock stars and rockabilly heroines, the gadgets are fashioned with leather and metal stud detailing… though we have to admit, even with the designer makeover these still aren’t the prettiest smartwatches available on the market (#chunky).

Instagram recently launched its new Hyperlapse app, which allows users to capture cinematic timelapse videos, even when in motion. Temperley London quickly picked up on the fact, using Hyperlapse as a tool to tease fans with hints of the new collection through a series of behind-the-scenes mini movies in the run-up to the S/S15 show. Besides generating hype, this visual strategy underlines the growing trend of interactivity in high-end fashion, as designers look to branch out beyond standard catwalk conventions.