Fashion designers Diana Eng (from Bravo’s “Project Runway 2”) and Emily Albinski will debut at the Maker Faire their new line of fashion tech clothing and jewelry under the brand “Black Box Nation”. Pictured above is Diana and Emily’s “Inflatable Dress” which is made from a hacked-up hand vacuum and made the cover of ID Magazine last fall. Also pictured is Emily’s beautifully designed necklace made from electronic fuses.
From Diana’s Blog: “Look, there’s Diana Eng and Emily Albinski. Four years ago they took an electronics for artists class together. Diana was intimidated by Emily’s speedy circuit building skills, and Emily thought it was neat that Diana was helping the other students with their basic programs. So they joined forces and created the inflatable dress. Now they are building things together in preparation for their Maker Faire fashion show where they will reveal their latest project, Black Box Nation. They’ve been creating rubber molds to cast resin. Emily has been etching circuits on everything she owns, cd’s, records, glass. Diana is afraid Emily will die early from too much exposure to hazardous chemicals.”
I sneaked in a quick question to the busy designers and asked them the meaning behind the new name, “Black Box Nation”.
Emily Albinski: Black box is the technical term that refers to a device whose inputs and outputs are known, but whose inner processes are much less apparent, housed with in a black box. In the case of black box nation, the inputs are the often disparate worlds of fashion and technology. The output is the mergence of the two; a realm of design that has only recently begun its evolution. Black Box Nation is a community where fashion designers, engineers and everyone in between come together to facilitate that evolution.
Diana Eng: [My hope] is to make the fashion-minded more interested in the research process, and the scientifically minded more interested in fashion as a form of self-expression.
You won’t want to miss the fantastic debut from Diana and Emily. See you at the Maker Faire!
Diana Eng & Emily Albinski – Black Box Nation Fashion Show
Saturday, April 22 @ 6pm
Maker Faire, San Mateo County Fairgrounds
Related:
Special Thanks To:
- Runway Models – John Robert Powers Modeling Agency, (Redwood City – Contact: Michelle Golobish, 650-832-2200) and (Marin – Contact: Zacqueline Davis, 415-259-3910)
- Hair / Makeup: College of San Mateo, Cosmetology Dept
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