Make Your Own LED Pumps

Ever since we featured futuristic fashion designers Moritz Waldemeyer and Vega Wang last week, we’ve been fascinated by the idea of a future where everyone walks around in illuminated outfits. After seeing video of Waldemeyer’s slinky LED dress that made our eyes pop, his crystal prism laser couture for Hussein Chalayan that shoots rays of light into space, and Wang’s electric blue collection inspired by bioluminescence, we became briefly preoccupied with the idea that if such fashions became affordable someday, and everyone started wearing them, we’d all have to shade our eyes from all the overwhelming wattage in the air. Then we realized there is an easy solution to that problem. In the future, everyone will just have to wear amazing sunglasses.

Back to the present — Waldemeyer and other 2020-minded designers are starting to add flash to some items that aren’t just for the runway. If you’ve ever walked home from a concert late at night, you’ll appreciate these subtly and not so subtly lit heels by Rodarte in the first slide and the video above. Because we know owning a fresh set of Rodarte heels may not be in your budget, we’re also including a link to an easy tutorial on how to make your own by tech DIY diva Alison Lewis.

If you’re more about kicks than pumps, or just male and still want to add some spark to your step, Waldemeyer himself just designed LED high tops for Creative Recreation (also in the slideshow above) that are bright enough to light up any dance floor without leaving you walking home limping. For your added optical stimulation, we’ve also included pics from Francesca Castagnacci, another designer venturing into the brave new world of pedestrian decoration.

Speaking of dancing, we’ll leave you with a video of skips that let you create beats with your feet. Happy friday!