Zac Posen’s Finale LED Gown Was Designed By a 22-Year-Old Girl Who Codes
On Tuesday, Zac Posen officially kicked off New York Fashion Week with his ZAC Zac Posen show at the brightly lit Industria Studios in downtown Manhattan. The urban environs was the perfect setting for his new Spring 2016 collection which included black and white jacquard coats, tailored jackets, and trendy off-the-shoulder tops paired with leather shorts. “I envisioned a collection that would capture the enthusiastic energy of an ever-changing city,” Posen wrote in his show notes. The most notable look, however, was the last one worn by Posen’s muse and famed supermodel Coco Rocha. Her presence literally brightened up the runway in a LED dress that was co-designed by 22-year-old Maddy Maxey, a fashion technologist and mentor for Google’s Made by Code initiative which inspires girls to learn how to code. Not only was the collection fun and playful, but also inspiring as well. We caught up with the budding fashionista to ask her about working with Posen and why coding is key for the future.
Yahoo Style: What was the design process like working with Zac?
Maddy Maxey: It was such a delight working with Zac and getting to see his incredible creativity in action. Much of working at the intersection of design and technology is negotiating between what’s technically possible and what’s aesthetically pleasing. With Zac’s team, we found a great combination of fashion and technology.
YS: How did the collaboration come about?
MM: I was part of the Made With Code documentary series about young women who have applied coding to creative careers, so when the Google team said they wanted to build an LED dress, It just made sense to start working together again!
YS: How important is it for girls to code?
MM: I think it’s deeply important that girls feel as though they are powerful enough to follow their passions. With this campaign, we want to show that coding can be creative, exciting and even fashionable. If coding is a passion, we hope that girls will follow it to an exciting and engaging career! It’s important that girls don’t see themselves as being limited, and code tends to be an area that many girls feel limited by.
YS: What do you want people to take away from this design and collection?
MM: I hope that people will feel inspired by creative uses of technology to tinker, build and fabricate themselves.
Design your own LED dress here at the Made With Code online studio.
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