The Beat Dress is a luminous dress that pulses according to the rhythm of music. The idea of the garment is that it will enhance the experience of music and contribute to the atmosphere as a whole in a club or at a music performance. Much in the same way as visual effects such as a video projection or a set of strobes can contribute to deliver a greater experience of music.

The dress is sewn in four layers of cloth. Underneath it all is a simple jersey-dress design. On that dress there are 10 detachable patches, all equipped with 10 LEDs each. All of these patches are then connected to a small microcomputer equipped with a tiny microphone hidden within the dress. On top of this there are another three layers of thin cloth that helps to spread the light from the LEDs to larger clusters.

When music is being played or the microphone is detecting any other sound these signals are sent trough an equalizer connected to the computer. If there is a base sound the computer transmits electrical pulses through the LEDs making them shine instantly and then softly go of again.

So when listening to music the LEDs are pulsing to the rhythm of the music. There is also a small lever attached to the microphone, making it possible to adapt to the loudness of sounds around you. This makes the dress work both where there are low volumes as well as where the volume is very loud.


Credits
Concept and design: Carl Rosenqvist
Co-designer: Natalia Altewai
Programming and engineering: Marcus Hannerstig and Markus Appelback