REACTIVEfashion is a cross-disciplinary collaborative project created at Bennington College by Angela Sheehan (’07) and Rebecca Grabman (’08). A combination of physical computing and costume design, the REACTIVEfashion line is a series of wearable computing art projects exploring the intersection of technology, clothing, and performance. Each designer produced personal projects as well as three collaborative garments presented during the college’s Spring Fashion Show in April 2007.

Most of these pieces were created in the spring of 2007 as a cross-disciplinary experiment, aided by the input of the Costume Design Projects and the Advanced Projects in Digital Art classes at Bennington. Researched, prototyped, and presented in a span of 4 months, this was an immersive experiment in DIY wearable computing techniques.

The collection was shown at the Spring Fashion Show, a Do-It-Yourself LED Wrist Cuff Workshop and the Student Endowment for the Arts gallery show and featured the following, among others.

REACTIVEfashion was made possible by a grant from the Bennington Student Endowment for the Arts.
Special thanks to: Genevieve Belleveau, Mary Casserly, Keith Eyrich, Joe Holt, Grady O’Neil, Michela Mastellone-Schottma, Robert Ransick, Kristen Scheer, John Umphlett, Alex Ward, and students in the spring 2007 Costume Design Projects and Advanced Projects in Digital Art classes.

Skate Power

A modified roller skate acts as a power generator, enabling a sparkling effect through LEDs on the skater's outfit. The clothing can also be powered by battery.

Materials: 
LEDs, Conductive Thread, Fabric Snaps and Fasteners, Stepper Motor with custom casing, Roller Skates.

Motor casing design/attachment assistance by John Umphlett. Modeled by Genevieve Belleveau.

Motorized Dress

A shape-shifting ensemble. A small motor on the waistband pulls a thread attached to the hem of the dress, changing the wearer's silhouette from long and flowing to short and sassy. Operated by pressing a button on the hip.

Materials:
Computer Fan, 9V Battery, Bobbin, Thread, Tin Can, Conductive Thread

 Base dress designed by Rebecca Grabman. Modeled by Kaley McMahon.

Light Race Jackets

Matching track jackets with bipolar LEDs embedded in grommeted pattern along sleeves/across back. A light pattern can be programmed to appear across the jacket and played at the press of a button.

Materials:
LEDs, Arduino Microcontroller, Conductive Thread, Ribbon Cable, Serially Controlled Output Switches, Push Button, 9V Battery.