FashionTech Designers Invent Clothes with Playable Video Games

Can your clothes be playable video games? GamerGirls by Phi Illuminated Designs for MakeFashion created the Gamer Girls dresses which allow wearers to compete against each other with LED interfaces and shoulder pads that reveal scores.

Gamergirls is a one of a kind design featuring two futuristic fashion dresses that allow the wearers to play an arcade style video game together, using each other’s dresses as the screen display. 

This retro style 8-bit video game is controlled by paired smartphones, which are connected via Bluetooth. 

Each garment is overlaid with a detailed track pattern mimicking the familiar arcade style gaming displays. This pattern houses over 400 individually addressable RGB LED lights. Each girl competes to reach objectives in the game, getting visual feedback from one another’s dresses as objectives are reached.

Game scores are represented by light diffusing 3D printed shoulder crystals that light up and change colour indicating to the player how their opponent is performing in the game. These wearable tech dresses were fabricated using laser cut reflective fabric, giving the dresses a retro yet futuristic sensibility.

Phi Illuminated Design is a new-media collective focusing on performance, wearable art, and wearable technology. Members Stacey Morgan and Kenzie Housego met while attending the Alberta College of Art and design, where they both received bachelors of fine art. Phi’s third member Sophie Amin join the collective in 2015 and brings to the team over 4 years of experience as an Electronics Technologist.