E-textile Coded by Girls Hits the Red Carpet: Lupita Nyong'o's Light-Up Dress

E-textiles have been lighting up runways and red carpets for a while now, but actress Lupita Nyong'o's light-up dress was especially illuminating on Dec. 2 at a promotional event for the new Star Wars movie. The LEDs in her dress had been coded by girls from around the world using tools from Google's Made With Code initiative! Check it out in the video below!
 

@lupitanyongo dress!💫 #Force4Fashion #StarWars #LupitaNyongo #JohnBoyega #DaisyRidley

A video posted by Jacky Tang (@misterjackytang) on Dec 2, 2015 at 5:52pm PST

This is particularly exciting because not only does it involve our new favorite technology, e-textiles, but it's also drawing attention to how many women are involved in this new exciting field, how it can get girls interested in technology, and how a dress can be so much more than just a pretty garment. Nyong'o used the opportunity to have a more meaningful conversation with reporters on the red carpet, beyond the typical questions about outfits that they normally ask actresses, by drawing attention to the accomplishments of the young women who coded the dress.

It's great that Google is also taking up the e-fashion mantle as part of Made with Code, so that you too can program a light-up dress here! E-textiles are really starting to garner mainstream attention, as more and more people recognize their potential for broadening participation in technology and for improving life in general.