madeAPT.

the sparkle project ◆ she codes australia

stitched and coded into one dress.

Kate Kirwin founded She Codes, which has helped more than 7,000 women into tech. Her dress was designed on MadeApt, tailored by Amina and Anela, and made to light up by the very women she taught to code.

git commit -m "a full-circle moment"

design your own see how it was made
7,000+
women into tech
3
lives, one dress
1
made, for kate
Kate Kirwin in her black made-to-measure dress, the skirt lit with rings and strips of violet and amber LEDs, in front of a wall of light
the garment ◆ worn by kate
The design render: a black sweetheart dress with a glowing skirt

the render

git branch --list

one dress, three lives.

Kate Kirwin on a panel, holding a microphone, in the black sweetheart-neck dress with its lights off
01

little black dress.

Lights off, it is a structured scuba-cotton dress cut to Kate's measurements. Nothing to explain.

Close view of the skirt: overlapping rings of violet and amber LEDs under a sheer black overlay, a lit matrix belt above
02

lit.

Rings and strips of LEDs across the skirt, a matrix at the waist. The dress answers the room.

Design render of the same black dress with a sheer overlay embroidered in purple flowersthe render
03

in bloom.

Swap the light for a floral embroidered overlay and the same dress goes soft.

README.md
type:
garment
fabric:
scuba cotton
fit:
made to measure
branch:
tech-exploration
commits:
4

git log --oneline

we made the dress. they made it sparkle.

MadeApt designed and tailored the garment. Every light on it is the work of the She Codes community.

Design render of a black sweetheart dress with a glowing multicolour skirt, belt and strapsa1f3c07

designed on madeapt

A digital experiment first: the shape, the overlay, where the light would sit.

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tailored by amina and anela

Cut and sewn in structured scuba cotton, then fitted on Kate.

The skirt laid flat on a table with LED strips fanned out and lit, a laptop, a controller board and a small sensor beside itc9047ae

wired by she codes women

Strips, rings, a matrix belt and a distance sensor, soldered and coded at a kitchen table.

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first light

The moment it switched on.

swipe ◆ four commits

full circle

she taught them to code. they made her dress light up.

Kate wore it to the She Codes Australia graduation in Perth. It began as a digital fashion experiment and ended on stage: local talent, collaborative making, and a room full of the women it was made by.

Kate at the centre of a group of She Codes people, arm raised, while two of them hold out the lit skirt
the people who made it sparkle
Kate in the lit dress on Sydney Harbour at night, the Opera House lit up behind her
sydney harbour
Kate in the dress beside Stephen Dawson in front of a She Codes Australia neon sign on a wall of greenery
with stephen dawson, wa minister for innovation
Kate mid-twirl in the lit dress, greeting someone at the showcase
showcase night
A neon sign reading She Codes Australia, glowing violet
Kate speaking at a lectern in the lit dress, seen over the heads of the audience
on stage

event photography: melody heart photography

git checkout -b yours

your turn

what would yours do?

start from kate’s little black dress, or from nothing at all

Design a piece in the studio and a real tailor sews it to your measurements. Lights, code and embroidery are yours to add.

design something custom made dresses
kate's other dress, printed with code →print your own tech art →what to wear on a tech stage →