The dress that responds to staring

Fashion designer and professor, recipient of the Phyllis-Lambert Design Montréal Grant, Ying Gao, is recognized worldwide, for her experimental work that melds advanced technologies, clothing and art.  Frequently shown in museums and galleries, her designs “explores both the status of the individual, whose physical contours are transformed by external interferences, and the garment’s function as a fragile protective space,” her website explains.

Her project “(no)where (now)here” features two  interactive dresses, made of organza  with photoluminescent thread, PVDF and imbedded eye-tracking technology. The fabric on the dresses are activated and move simply by spectators’ gaze.

According to the designer’s information about the exhibit, “a photograph is said to be ‘spoiled’ by blinking eyes. Here, however, the concept of presence and of disappearance are questioned, as the experience of ‘chiaroscuro’ (clarity/obscurity) is achieved through an unfixed gaze.”

See for yourself!