English fashion designer Gareth Pugh has fashioned a dress made from OLEDs (organic LEDs) panels. OLEDs entry into the market promises a more light efficient display technology compared to traditional LEDs. According to Wired, “the plastic electronics technology allows circuits to be printed onto any surface and over large areas and is seen as a a low-cost alternative to conventional silicon-based electronics.” Unfortunately, from the looks of the first prototype, the “flexibility” of the screen is no where near suitable for wearables. The dress was made from a special fabric coated with a thin, flexible layer of OLED displays. The dress, controlled by a microcontroller, changes color when triggered by a signal. Until coating textiles with a thin, “flexible” layer of OLEDs doesn’t change the inherent quality of the textile itself, I don’t perceive this technology being applicable to wearables. I would *love* to screenprint decorative patterns of OLEDs though for use in “smart” electronically driven interiors. The video from the runway show is pretty fantastic. via Wired
