Janet Hansen: Giving Daft Punk, MIA and Kanye that Laser Look
Posted by Motherboard on Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Janet Hansen lights artists for stage.
No, not like that. She actually lights the artists themselves. Their entire bodies.
The founder and Chief Fashion Engineer of Enlighted Designs, Inc, Janet’s sewn her lifelong passions for fashion, art, and technology together into spectacular lighted costumery that’s illuminated shows like Dancing with the Stars and laser-lined real-life Tron characters Daft Punk (like this and this). And yes, she gave Kanye his illuminated Kanye shades.
In this episode of Motherboard, Janet shows us her San Diego studio and explains her technique for coaxing the robot side out of some of the world’s biggest future-minded performers. After learning to sew at age 7, she began installing miniature lights in her own dollhouse, and as her costume-making hobby bloomed, she began to incorporate more electronics into her fashion. While developing her artistic skills — she’s also a multimedia painter and sculptor — Janet studied engineering, and picked up a PhD in biomechanics. Today, she is arguably the most prolific lighted clothing designer in the world.
Still, says Janet, lighted clothing won’t necessarily be the fashion statement of the future. It will, however, always be the best way to knock your socks off. Your plain, lame, non-LED-encrusted socks.
Learn more – and grab some of your own ready-to-wear or custom-made garments at Enlighted, and read a guide by Janet on how to make your own electroluminescent outfits at Instructables
