ANREALAGE LIGHTS UP THE RUNWAY WITH UV FASHION

If you ever played laser tag as a kid, you'd know that certain hues of color will glow under ultraviolet lights. Anrealage, a Japanese fashion brand, has recently taken this concept and turned it on its head. For Paris fashion week, they created clothing that fully changes color when UV light is introduced to the fabric. These garments didn't just change color though, they fully transformed into patterned head to toe looks which were styled beautifully.

Source: Vogue Runway

This wasn't just a one-off or runway gimmick either. This concept was applied to every outfit that walked the runway. The most impressive part of this runway element wasn't even the transformation itself, but the wide variety of fabrics and colors that could be changed via ultraviolet light. Faux fur jackets, crochet accessories, and thick trench coats— all mesmerizingly color shifting.

The way these garments were created was by utilizing photochromatic fabrics. These are fabrics that react to sunlight as well as ultraviolet rays in order to shift the color of the textile. Anrealage constructed these pieces to not be one color or the other, but rather to be "constantly shifting" as the intensity of the sunlight changes throughout the day.

While iridescent and blacklight reflective clothing has been around for decades, Anrealage is the first of its kind as far as the complexity of the color shift. Another aspect that sets this collection apart from other color changing garments is that the textiles used by Anrealage respond to light, where others respond to heat.

Another brand to use these light reactive fabrics is PH5, who released a collection of UV responsive basics in 2020. While these garments were impressive, Anrealage's application of the polychromatic textiles added a lot of intrigue to the concept. PH5's pieces were single color basics, whereas Anrealage's collection introduced multiple colors and fabrics to the world of UV fashion.

Using technology to impress the fashion show's audience is certainly not a new concept, although this unique presentation and utilization of it certainly is. The sheer amount of different silhouettes and fabrics that changed from blank canvasses into full looks was spectacular, and I cannot wait to see Anrealage's next show.

Source: Vogue Runway