Climate Reactive Fairytale Frocks Capture the Essence of the Sun, Moon & Sky

Montreal based digital media and performance artist Valerie Lamontagne’s collection of fluid, eye-catching and constantly adjusting dresses reflect Mother Nature’s three constant elements -- moonbeams, sunlight and the sky.

Charles Perrault’s famous fairy tale “Peau d’Ane” – about a young princess who attempts to prevent her doting stepfather from marrying her by demanding that he first create three dresses that embody the airy quality of the clouds, the nighttime intensity of the moon and the warmth and radiance of the sun -- serves as the inspiration for the artist’s concept.

The fanciful and very feminine garments tie in the essence of an imaginary, storybook world with the addition of technological innovation, which may seem like an oxymoron but that’s exactly what the artist is after.

Unlike countless other couture examples which are attractive to look at but serve no relevant purpose beyond their beauty, Lamontagne has endowed her wearable frocks with the ability to receive real-time weather data which then triggers the gowns to morph accordingly.

All of them are constructed using conductive threads, light emitting diodes, thermochromatic paints, fans, custom circuit boards and special wireless micro-controllers that receive temperature, UV, solar radiation, rain fall, wind speed, velocity and humidity information directly from UC’s Weather Davis climate station.

Each dress adapts to the conditions that exist outside during any given moment in time, either by billowing (thanks to vibrating air pockets), shining brightly (via 128 LEDs) or illuminating (by way of 14 moon-cycle mimicking flowers that modulate in tone, intensity and color).

This very creative exercise in fashion design with a quirky purpose is not the first earthy endeavor for Lamontagne, who has also been at the helm of a performance/installation project called the Snow Flake Queen in which she doled out hand-cut snowflakes crafted from the recycled pages of classic fairy tale book illustrations to onlookers while donning an ethereal icy gown.

Her weather altering frocks certainly make quite a lasting and elemental impression, wouldn't you agree?