Gamergirls

Phi: Illuminated Design by Kenzie Housego, Stacey Morgan, Sophie Amin, and Alexis Friesen

Gamergirls is a one of a kind design featuring two identical sleek structured feminine dresses that allow the wearers to play an arcade style video game together, using one another’s dresses as the screen display.

Gamergirls is a one of a kind design featuring two identical sleek structured feminine dresses that allow the wearers to play an arcade style video game together, using one another’s dresses as the screen display. This retro style 8-bit video game is controlled by paired smartphones, which are connected via Bluetooth. Game scores are represented by light diffusing 3D printed shoulder crystals that light up and change colour indicating to the player how their opponent is performing in the game. Also these garments where fabricated using laser cut reflective fabric given them a retro yet futuristic sensibility.

Technical Information

Each dress contains:

-1 x xadow mainboard (underskirt lighting)

-510 addressable leds (414 on the front panel, 72 on the underskirt, 12 on each shoulder)

– 1 x string of regular (non-addressable) purple LEDs

-1 x Arduino Mega

-1 x nRF8001 Bluefruit LE Breakout

-3 x 5100mAh lithium batteries

-2 x 2200mAh lithium batteries

Video: Paul Spenard

The Team

Kenzie Housego – Designer, Accessories, Project Management

Stacey Morgan – Designer, Lead Fabricator

Sophie Amin  – Electronics Design Lead

Alexis Friesen – Electronics Assistant

Phi : Illuminated Design is a new-media collective focusing on performance, wearable art, and wearable technology. Interested in the crossroads between art, fashion, and technology, Phi is constantly seeking methods and media that engage and empower cultural participants through technology. Members Stacey Morgan and Kenzie Housego met while attending the Alberta College of Art and design, where they both received their Bachelors of Fine Art. In 2013 Kenzie and Stacey began collaborating on their first wearable tech collection Illuminated Vintage for the MakeFashion 2014 runway show. This collective featured bright retro dress forms, and accessories, that all react to, sound, touch, movement, or the wearer’s heartbeat. This first MakeFashion runway event was extremely impactful on both artists; in fostering an enthusiasm for fashion technology, exposing them to ‘Maker Culture’ and introducing technology as a new attainable art making medium.

Phi’s third member Sophie Amin join the collective in 2015 and brings to the team over 4 years of experience as an Electronics Technologist as well as a shared passion for leveraging new technological tools to facilitate visual expression and participant engagement. Makefashion has allowed her to build her design experience and challenge her in new ways that wouldn’t be possible in a traditional electronics R&D environment.Since 2014, Phi Illuminated Design with MakeFashion has had the opportunity to showcase their performative wearable art/tech collections nationally and internationally at Beakerhead festival in Calgary, Rome MakerFaire, MakerFaire Bay Area in California, Fashionware New York, CES Vegas, Xiamen Fashion Week, China, and at a two-week art residency in Shenzhen, China.

On The Runway

Gamergirls | Designer: Phi: Illuminated Designs by Stacey Morgan, Kenzie Housego, Sofia Amin | Models: Carolynne Scoffield and Eloise Yaskiw | Hair: Allison-Love Hair By J | Makeup: Tara Smith | Photography: Zev Vitaly Abosh

Gamergirls | Designer: Phi: Illuminated Designs by Stacey Morgan, Kenzie Housego, Sofia Amin | Models: Carolynne Scoffield and Eloise Yaskiw | Hair: Allison-Love Hair By J | Makeup: Tara Smith | Photography: Jeff McDonald

MakeFashion fuses wearable technology with high fashion. Interested in more information, showcasing this piece, or media images? Please contact info@makefashion.ca