Movies or film icons from the '30s, '40s or '50s usually provide great inspirations to fashion designers for what regards certain moods, shapes and silhouettes, rather than for their connections with a high-tech visionary world. Yet the people at Berlin-based fashion tech start-up ElektroCouture, founded by Lisa Lang, have just changed this trend thanks to a project inspired by letters from Marlene Dietrich to costume designer Jean Louis.
In the letters, dated 1958, Dietrich wrote to Louis that she wanted to find a way to have a dress that glowed and that could be interactive, "This way I can light up and take the light off at will," she explained. "This will puzzle the people which is good. They will not know if they imagine the lights or if they are there."
The technology was obviously not as advanced as today, and, luckily for Dietrich, the dress was never made since she could have died of an electric stroke had it ever been realized.
Based on sketches of Jean Louis and Dietrich's descriptions, pioneering wearable technology venture ElektroCouture collaborated with their designer-in-residence Anja Dragan and with famous fashion companies to produce an exclusive Haute Couture design.
Swarovski provided indeed custom-made crystals compatible with technical embroideries (e-broidery® technology) by Swiss-based Forster Rohner Textile Innovations, a company that utilizes Osram LEDs. The design, incorporating also 3-D printed elements, can be operated remotely and the production team can switch between several lighting variants.
The special design marks the 25th anniversary of Dietrich's death and was featured in the French-German broadcaster Arte's documentary "Das letzte Kleid der Marlene Dietrich" ("The Last Dress of Marlene Dietrich", by film production company CO2 Berlin; it was aired on Arte on May 7).
Dietrich had a passion for daring designs as proved by her infamous "naked" or "nude" dress designed by Jean Louis (that would then inspire Marilyn Monroe's gown for John F. Kennedy's birthday in 1962...) that caused a sensation when she performed in Las Vegas in the '50s.
Marlene's dress by ElektroCouture will travel the world to be featured in design, costume and technology exhibitions, proving that the past may be holding the key to the fashion of the future.
How did you find out about Marlene Dietrich's letter to Jean Louis?
Anja Dragan: The letters were found by the authors of the documentary, Sabine Carbon and Felix Oehler (CO2 Film) at Marlene Dietrich's archive in Berlin. Their documentary explains the story and shows the entire process of making the dress.
What kind of research did you do to come up with the shape, colour and silhouette of the dress - did you re-watch any films starring Marlene Dietrich?
Anja Dragan: We did a lot of research, but our main source of inspiration and information remained the letters. They clearly define pretty much everything about the shape, embellishment, colour and special effects. Marlene described her vision in detail and even wrote about possible solutions for the technical part. Just think that she may have died on stage if the dress had ever been executed.
Which technologies did you integrate in the dress?
Anja Dragan: We used Forster Rohner Textile Innovations' e-broidery® technology, which integrates lighting into textiles without compromising their washability and drapability. This part consists of 151 LEDs that can be individually programmed in different modes and operated remotely by the production team. The LEDs were covered with specially developed Swarovski crystals. The flowers, created by using layers of laser-cut plastics and textiles, were combined with machine embroidered and with 3D printed floral embellishments.
Which was the most challenging aspect of this project and how long did it take you to complete it?
Anja Dragan: It took us some time to figure out how to hide all the textile cables and assemble the base of the dress in a way that would still keep the technology invisible. There was a lot of sewing involved and therefore the sort of hand-made skills and techniques employed in Haute Couture. In total it took us about 2 and a half months.
Is there a special dress (or accessory) by a famous costume designer (or donned by a famous actress...) you would like to recreate in a high tech key?
Anja Dragan: Not really, but when somebody finds another letter with a new description for its time unrealistic, then...for sure! This project was very interesting because it was like working for an actual order from a modern client. It was not about recreating something that already existed, but it was about making someone's wish (finally) come true.
Is there a film director you would like to collaborate with one day?
Anja Dragan: Wes Anderson and many, many others!