Basic Concept
I am looking to create a ballroom dance dress in the Rhythm/Latin style. I want to incorporate light within some of the more fluid sections of the dress, and (time permitting) in the bodice of the dress. By utilizing light in the fluid sections of the dress, the wear’s movement will create a unique light experience.
Inspiration
Initial Sketches
Potential Materials
I have looked into a few different materials. The main thing I am looking for in material is flexibility and fluidity if possible. The materials I am thinking of using to replace the tassels is optical fiber. While it is stiffer than normal fabric tassels, but I think I will still be able to get some fun movement with it. For the bodice, EL wire or tape seemed like the easiest thing to work with. I also considered LED lights or other lights that mimic rhinestones. For the dress itself, I probably will try to use spandex or another stretchy material as the base. Depending on how things progress and how much time I have, I may also try to incorporate mesh, chiffon, or other see-through materials.
Initial Materials Testing
Due to lack of materials, I was unable to test any of the diffusing fabrics. If I decide that I have time to incorporate them, I will likely take some light materials to a fabric store in order to test out fabric before I purchase any.
Artist Questions
- Are there any other materials (specifically in terms of light materials) that might help me achieve my goals?
- Of the two inspiration dresses, do you think that my main inspiration is the best one to go for?
So first off, let me say that I have no sense of fashion what so ever, and please take everything I say with a grain of salt. Next I want to say that the second dress looks really cool, I feel like with the extra ribbon tassels (that’s what I am going to call them) you could space out the lights more, bring a sort of stars in the night sky kind of effect if they are spaced out, and then use like one solid color for the main fabric. Finally, I got to ask, how are you actually going to make an entire dress, you mentioned patterns, but like don’t those still take like weeks to finish?
This is an absolutely beautiful idea and is very unique to your interests. I am not really sure of materials, but something glittery could play well with the light and create some stunning effects.
Both designs are gorgeous! I would pick the first design as it allows for the tassels to be the major focus while giving space for more detail to be added, light or fabric, in different ways on the top half. As a alternative light addition, you could try placing leds along the outfit near reflective materials (sequins?) to direct the output.
Both designs would look amazing! EL wire might be the best option depending what your looking for. Optical fibers seem to only have glowing tips as opposed to the whole fiber glowing brightly. If you have control over the colors and brightness, a nice subtle breathing effect between colors would add a lot of depth to the piece.