Teen Combines Fashion and STEM To Create One-of-A-Kind Prom Dress

By SheSpeaksTeam May 11, 2017

Finding that perfect prom dress can be an endeavor, but one teen took things a step further when she combined fashion and science to create a spectacular one-of-a-kind look for senior prom. Home school senior, Claire Smith, fell in love with the Zac Posen creation Claire Danes wore to the Met Gala last year. It was a ball gown that literally lit up the room, featuring fiber optic technology that allowed the dress to glimmer and glow in the dark.

Mashable reports about Smith’s mission to create her own Zac Posen inspired dress on a budget. Utilizing her coding skills, the 17 year old member of Girls Who Code modified a second hand dress so that the skirt lights up and changes vibrant colors when viewed in a dark room. She stitched a wearable electronics platform known as Adafruit’s Flora and NeoPixels (tiny LED lights designed to work with the platform) into the dress with conductive thread. She also outfitted the pretty-in-pink dress with a battery pack that allows her to turn the lights on and off. And all of this took her a few days to complete.

As you can imagine, the teen is a big proponent of getting girls involved in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and has plans to go into the engineering field. She has even started her own club to teach girls how to use 3-D printers. Smith has this message for other budding STEM enthusiasts, “If you're thinking of going into computer science, don’t back out because the guys are intimidating, just keep going. It’s an amazing journey to go through.”

What do you think of this teen’s light-up prom dress?

Do you think projects like this can get girls more interested in STEM?