Illuminating clothing, footwear or other fashion accessories inspire a growing number of designer who explore the possibilities of active light elements for fashion.

Italian-born fashion designer Francesca Castagnacci used the active light element as her inspiration to design Heels that contain fiber-optic material to emit subtle, classy soft color shades, not the usual, bright flashing color spots but discrete illumination.

Luminex, one of the leading companies that create optical fibers specifically to be used for fashion applications produces long, very thin strands of pure glass or plastic, no thicker than a human hair. These optical fibers are suitable to be woven together with conventional yarn to fabric structures.

The optical fibers themselves are not light emitting but need one or more LEDs on each end of the fiber or  bundle of fibers. By using RGB (Red, Green Blue) LEDs a simple program on an IC can created almost any color shade. The LED light travels through the optical fiber which is specially treated to allow light coming out along the fibers surface.

The effect is a subtile, almost mystical illumination. These illumination fibers combine with the design skills of people like Francesca Castagnacci bring sparkle to high end fashion objects.

[source: Yatzer via Ecouterre]

When it comes to hi-tech sneakers Adidas is the #1 a number it well deserves since they introduced early 2005 the Adidas 1 high-tech sneaker with integrated running computer.

Five years later, Adidas takes on again the high tech arena combining footwear with the virtual world as interaction object with the launch AR (Augmented Reality) sneakers.

The AR sneaker range does not involve this time much of wearable technology as seen in the Adidas 1 but they open the door to the online world of gaming and social networking. A simple marker sewn into the tongue is the key to that world.

Hold the square AR marker in the tongue in front of the computers’ camera and you enter Adidas’ Flash-based app which will then superimpose a virtual world on top of the shoe that moves in real time as you move the shoe in front of the camera.

It’s a simple demonstration of how to link physical objects with the virtual world but more sophisticated interaction with Adidas sneakers is in the making as they plan to release a couple of Online games using the AR sneaker as interaction device.

Shoes as input device for computer games might not sound very logical but seemingly playful concepts like this one represent a important steeping stone when exploring more sophisticated, more ’sensible’ solutions for the future. One has to start somewhere and playful learning paves the way for creativity and innovation.

Although the wearable technology involvement in the AR sneaker range is very little, I believe that technology enhanced clothing design should utilize the technological possibilities to establish a link between our activities ‘in the cloud’ and our real life.

This can be in a playful, purely emotional form and/or to add functional sense by linking, by integrating our outfit with the WWW-cloud.

The Adidas AR range, featuring 5 different models are available in US and various European countries retailing between $65.- and $95.- just look around in your real world neighborhood where to get a pair as you need them to enter the virtual neighborhood of Adidas.

Many of us look forward to a hot summer season but the apparel brands think one or two seasons ahead and prepare for the next winter already now.

So even if you can not imagine right now to have cold feet again you might be interested in knowing that Columbia Sportswear will launch this autumn the Omni-Heat Boots that will keep your feet cozy warm on the coldest days thanks to an electronic heating system inside the shoes.

Columbia Sportswear has already claimed the innovator spot with the launch of the electrically heated Bugathermo last season, a hot looking shoe with battery powered heating.

This years model (no product image available yet) will feature electric powered thermal technology with state of the art carbon based heater, 4-6 hours of continuous heat from the integrated battery. Battery charging is dane via USB cable which are included when buying the Omni-Heat Boots.

The expected retail price will be around $300,- for black and $350,- for Camo. We will keep you posted about the launch of this hot boots from Columbia Sportswear.

For everyone who was shocked about the Zap Sandal’s price we found another option for illuminated footwear, the Teva Illum Sandals.

The waterproof light module on these Flip-Flop style sandals is detachable so during daylight there is no need to carry them along but after sunset on the beach, shoe headlights might come handy to avoid hitting rocks or beer bottles when leaving the beach party.

Depending on the material, the Illum sandals will retail when they hit the shops in May for $50.- with the synthetic finish or $60.- for a leather finish including a LED powered headlight on each sandal.

Personally I am not sure about the usefulness of this kind of shoe illumination. It seems to be a practical feature but I would really question the practicality.  Using light in shoes for style purpose, not as functional but as emotional design element looks to me more sensible.

There is a fine line one has to consider when merging technology with clothing, or in this case shoes: only because we usually perceive technology as functional does not mean technology has to be used only to add a function. Why not useing technology to create or enhance the emotional value of clothing?

[via: Feed the Habit]

Wearing light in form of dresses, jackets or shoes has a magnetic effect on people, some love it, some hate it (maybe) but in any case, wearable light has the attention of everyone around.

We have covered shoes with light elements using various technologies from no-brands to top-brands, it seems everyone is testing the segment to find out if shoe illumination is just for small kids shoe’s or is it a style element that fits into the high fashion market.

London based fashion designer Jimmy Choo who made his name by creating gorgeous looking shoes for women including some of the most expensive high-end shoes in the market announced the launch of the Zap Sandal for the Spring/Summer 2010 season with ‘light up details’.

Apparently the five-inch heels will light up at each step creating a firework when you hit the dance-floor with the Zap Sandals.

This unique light feature does not come cheap, it’s in the top bracket of Jimmy Choo’s line with a suggested retail price of €1745.- which is around $2400.-

I can not imagine this price point is only because of the light element, there is a considerable amount included going towards the prestige component of this sandals.

[via: Huffington Post]

We are a few days away from the official begin of autumn, time to look for clothing and shoes to keep us comfy warm during the cold days to come.

Announcing just in time to make it to the winter outfit shopping list, Columbia Sportswear offers an option to keeping our feet warm with the Bugathermo for men and the Snow Hottie for women, two high tech winter boot models with integrated, active heating.

Cold feet are a nightmare for many people. How often have I dreamed having a heater in my shoe while waiting in the cold for a taxi or bus.

The heated boots contain a innovative, rechargeable heating system that keeps feet warm for up to eight hours. Three temperature settings adjust to the coldest conditions, and with waterproof, breathable Omni-Tech, the feet stays dry and comfy warm.

The three temperature settings are easy to read and use via the LED ankle button, letting you customize your heating system on the go – cool.

Internal lithium polymer batteries deliver the heating power and are easily recharged with the included adapter. So in future don;t only charge tour cellphone but also your shoes.

Columbia Sportswear heated boots will be available soon but we have found the Bugathermo at this online store with a price tag of $249.99. Quite a cool/hot price point for such great looking high tech boots. Staying warm during the coming winter season is not as priceless as it was in the past.

A lazy hot summer day search about ‘techno beach gear’ came up with LED Flip-flops, these not very healthy, according to some studies, but beloved beach footwear which can be seen on beaches right now in numbers only second to the sand grains of the beach.

Having posted about on a couple of occasions about illuminated sneakers and their fun generating value for clubbing, these relatively cheap (between $8.- and $9.- available here) will for sure increase the fun and colorfulness of your next beach party.

To activate the light, just make a step and shoot up an explosion of colors, no mention of a battery that needs to be inserted or changed, so I guess they have an onboard battery that will last the entire lifetime of the flip-flops (which usually is not that long for such foot wear).

As I said at the begin, a lazy, hot summer search with a little sparkle on an everyday object like flip-flops are.

Nike added another ‘glow-in-the-dark’ sneaker to their collection of glowing sneaker fashion, the Back to the Future inspired Nike Hypermax NFW Back to the Future 2015 Marty McFly.

Glow in the dark elements are incorporated into the shoe’s outsole, not the sort of interactive light in sneakers we have seen by other brands but it clearly shows there is an area for wearable light technology waiting to be explored.

The call is out for wearable technologists to develop components and solutions that can withstand the forces a shoe has to take, simple to integrate during sneaker manufacturing and being cheap enough to be disposed when the sneakers are run down or out of style.

Glow-in-the-dark materials radiates visible light after being energized by daylight. The glow effect can not be controlled, it starts when the daylight diminishes or by entering a dark room.

Electrical energized light from LEDs or EL have the advantage of being controllable by the wearer or triggered under pre-defined situations (e.g. hitting something, light up in different colors when walking/running a certain distance, …) in short, much more exiting, interactivity than a passive light source.

But until the time such shoe light technology is available you still might want to radiate a bit in the dark with the Nike Hypermax NFW Back to the Future 2015 Marty McFly which is in store by Kix-Files for $550.- but only in size 11 for men.

[via: Kix-Files]

Color changing, glowing garments radiate a mystical, magical aura. No wonder that much effort is spend on bringing wearable light and color changing magic to our outfit.

The newest addition to this segment comes from two of the top sneaker brands which will release simultaneously glow-in-the-dark sneakers along their Spring 2009 collection.

Nike Sportswear and Kanye West, who knows how to use illuminated clothing to get out-of-this-world visual effects, teamed up to create the highly anticipated Nike Air Yeezy sneaker, first seen on Kanye during the 2008 Grammy awards. The release date is set for April 4.

Besides the cool design of the Air Yeezy, it will start glowing after sunset thanks to a ‘glow-in-the-dark’ treatment of the swoosh and sole material.

Glow-in-the-dark paint and coatings contain phosphor, a substance that radiates visible light after being energized – in this case by daylight. There are two main types of phosphor that have these properties: Zinc Sulfide and Strontium Aluminate.

Strontium Aluminate has a much longer persistence than Zinc Sulfide. Chemists created many variants of glow-in-the-dark material with different properties on intensity, color spectrum and more. Available as powder mixed into plastic or paint for coating and impregnation.

Back to the sneakers: The second brand is New Balance with the glow-in-the-dark sneaker model MT576S BAMBOO RAKE which will be available at Mita.

This particular sneaker is the product of a collaboration between New Balance, Mita and creative collective FRAT. The highlight of the shoe is the glow-in-the-dark. They look subtle at first glance, appearing in an off white colorway but start radiating magical light when night falls.

New Balance scheduled the official release for April 4 as well. We couldn’t find any hint on retail price yet but we will give an update as soon as these information for both glowing sneakers become available.

I don’t think either company has visibility for safety while wearing the glow sneaker in mind when creating them but I do believe that these glowing sneakers will be a killer for partying and clubbing.

The magic of light entered again our coverage, this time in form of an incredible looking sneaker, the Onitsuka Tiger Sunotore 72.

Japan’s Onitsuka Tiger has been around since 1949 and is specialized in the manufacturing of sports shoes using original ideas and applying innovative,  epoch-making techniques.

The Electric Tiger Sunotore 72 trainers have been release last summer but actually the basic but classy design is more suitable for the winter season.

The reason for us posting about it is the shoes ability to start glowing when it gets dark or when they are hit by UV light. This glow is designed into the shoe concepts and transforms the shoes light changing ability into something like changing from day to a evening wardrobe. There is no electricity involved in the color transformation, it is done by using neon fluorescent print on the shoes upper material.

As unique as this shoes style is as unique is the background story of this particular design: the print is a detailed illustration of the Tokyo skyline paying homage to the incredible ambiance and energy of Japan. The print incorporates distinctive elements such as Tokyo’s unmistakable skyline, vibrant neon signage, transport, night markets, and vending machines. The light-up technology gives life to this design philosophy. Another nice example how a bit of technology spices up fashion design.

Available in three color ways: black, red and white via a number of online retailers like this one for as low as $88.39

One thing is for sure: wearing this sneakers lights up the dull, dark winter days.