The Dress that Changes Color in Sun

Passing from the sunny side of her street, a New York influencer dressed in a beige dress suddenly finds herself all in pink. A technical feat that garnered nearly half a billion views on Instagram. Explanations.

"She's pink now!" exclaimed the American influencer Izzi as she goes from the shadow of the building's entrance to the sunlit New York street, witnessing the color of her dress change. Filmed and posted on Instagram on October 22, 2022, the phenomenon has since been viewed over 45 million times. This marvel is brought to you by the brand PH5, a knitwear label founded in New York in 2014, which introduced an entire range of photosensitive clothing for the Spring-Summer 2023 collection, called "UV Reactive."

Named "Sponde," the dress, priced at 555 dollars (494 euros), is a chameleon; indeed, besides being able to wear it with the neckline in the front or back, it changes from beige to pink depending on its exposure to UV rays. The technology is a hit, but not entirely unprecedented.

At the beginning of her video, Izzi refers to another piece she previously showcased to her followers, which also changed color: a skirt that reacted to heat. Once worn, the duck-colored piece turned pistachio green, as shown in a video posted on TikTok on September 22, 2022. This experience reminds some users of the "hypercolor" T-shirts popularized in the 1990s, whose color changes, particularly in areas of the body with more heat, like the armpits, left some with mixed memories. While the transformation is similar, it has nothing to do with this viral dress. The latter reacts to light and utilizes a proven technique already seen on the runways.

Smart clothing

On February 28th, during Paris Fashion Week, the Anrealage runway show left everyone in awe. Models, dressed in monochromatic beige outfits, were swept from head to toe by UV lamps, synchronized to the rhythm of Ravel's Bolero. Suddenly, the garments revealed vibrant patterns and colors. Anrealage has made photosensitive fabrics its specialty and developed its own technology, which has also been utilized by the brand Fendi in the past. The fibers used by PH5 for their "UV Reactive" collection are treated with a solution sensitive to UV rays, reacting similarly to light. When contacted by Madame Figaro, the brand did not provide further details or responses.