Dezeen Magazine

Ski suits with solar-powered lights by Willy Bogner

Following our report on Moritz Waldemeyer's stage costumes for OK Go, here's another story about clothing featuring LEDs. This time, fashion designer Willy Bogner has put solar-powered lights in ski suits.

The outfits were presented earlier this month in Munich, Germany, as part of the city's bid to host the Winter Olympics in 2018.

The solar-powered LEDs employ thin-film technology developed by lighting company Osram.

Here's some info from Osram:

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LED on snow:High-tech winter fashion of tomorrow

Ski fashion for the year 2036 promotes LED lighting. At an event held onNovember 5th 2007for theMunichbid to host the Olympic Winter Games, fashion designer Willy Bogner sent his models on a trip into the future of winter sports.

Together with lighting manufacturer OSRAM, he ventured a brief look into the future: state-of-the-art lighting technology providing the winter sports outfits of tomorrow with a conspicuous, yet sartorially elegant design. Bogner on the outside, OSRAM on the inside – this is the motto of these sparkling ski suits.

Twelve brightly illuminated OSRAM Golden DRAGON LEDs in a special version of the DRAGONx LED module fitted on the front and rear as well as on the sleeves made the “Solar Light Suit” sparkle. The LEDs are solar-powered. Based on the thin film technology developed by OSRAM, these light sources boast a particularly high luminous efficacy. With an optical output ratio of 55 Lumen/Watt, the Golden DRAGON LEDs require little space given their minimalist size. Even with integrated lens, each measures less than a centimetre in height. Thus they are suitable for the most diverse designs and can easily be integrated into clothing. Because of different beam directions – depending on the lens used – the high-power LEDs are also perfect for architectural and accent lighting and for use in spotlights.

LEDs with extremely flat design:

The “Private Space Suit“ – a further creation by Willy Bogner – featured LINEARlight Flex LED strips to place impressive illuminated highlights in red and white. The LED module, which is fixed on a flexible and separable pc board, emits the light either at the top or at the side – without generating a great deal of heat in the process. Due to its low height, it can be fitted in extremely flat designs, thus also in trousers or jackets. As a long-life solution with more than twice the luminous flux, the LINEARlight W2 has a life of up to 50,000 hours.

“There is no question that light will assume a whole host of different functions in the future that are quite inconceivable to the modern consumer," said Florian Hockel, applications engineer at OSRAM. “As an innovative lighting company, it is our task to act and plan with a view to the future. Consequently, the Future Outfits for Willy Bogner were an excellent chance to demonstrate just what our LED modules can do, even in the face of an unusual, futuristic challenge.”

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Posted by Rose Etherington