This article was taken from the February 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online. "I love this stuff," Azealia Banks says, three minutes before going on stage in front of 2,000 fans at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire. "This stuff" is a " digital mermaid bra", created by London fashion technology company Studio XO, studded with hundreds of blue and clear Swarovski crystals. The top's small LED "lamp posts" diffract light among the crystals, animating them in time to the music, which is controlled by a pre-programmed circuit. The studio only completed the outfit two days before the first date of Banks's tour: "It's more in line with the fashion industry than technology," says Nancy Tilbury, XO's creative director. "If you were styling a shoot or preparing for a show, you would do it very quickly." XO cofounder Benjamin Males adds "But when it goes wrong, you need engineers, not seamstresses." XO is used to the fast pace of touring acts: its first commission was for The Black Eyed Peas in 2011 to create interactive costumes that synced with the stage dressing, choreography and lights. "The digital architecture of the stages sees them as lights," Males explains. "You could actually control the clothes like they're part of the stage."
The company, based in Finsbury Park, is going beyond big-name acts, though: it recently released Lex, an editing interface for wearable animations inspired by their work with boy band JLS, who wore programmable body armour and footwear. "The idea is that it's more than just fashion -- it's choreography around the body," says Tilbury. Their high-profile work with musicians will still be crucial, though, in creating a market for digital clothing: "Where wearable tech has maybe failed is that it had no heroes, no owners," Tilbury continues. "The fashion industry is confused about what technology means to them, but the music industry isn't -- people like The Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am, Azealia. That gives us access to the fans and the moment you get access to the fans, it's big numbers." If the ambition sounds grand, Studio XO's approach, according to Males, is simple: "It's sewing machines and soldering irons."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
