At Paris Fashion Week, ANREALAGE Showed Dresses That Change Color Like a Second Skin

On September 29, during Paris Fashion Week, the Japanese fashion house ANREALAGE debuted six dresses that change color in real time. Presented as part of its Spring/Summer 2027 "SKIN" collection, the garments use E Ink Prism 3 — a programmable electronic-paper material — in a creative collaboration announced by E Ink, the technology's developer [1].

Each dress carries approximately 1,000 to 2,000 individual E Ink Prism pieces arranged in a scale-like pattern. Working together, the pieces shift colors and patterns across the garment's surface, so a single dress can take on several appearances without changing shape. The announcement describes the effect as a way to "multiply the creative possibilities of an individual piece" [1].

Not a screen

The surface does not behave like a light-emitting screen. E Ink's electronic paper reflects ambient light and holds its displayed image without continuous power — energy is needed only when the image changes. The principle is familiar from e-readers; here the components are spread across clothing to alter its appearance [2].

Designboom noted that the runway pieces paired the electronic panels with 3D-printed scales, adding a second treatment of the surface. WWD described designer Kunihiko Morinaga's concept — Morinaga founded ANREALAGE — as an exploration of the skin's ability to mutate, fitting a collection titled "SKIN," in which clothing becomes a changing surface with the wearer at its center [2].

Still runway, not retail

For all its spectacle, the presentation says little about everyday use. There are no details on washing, repair, or mass production, and the announcement describes six runway dresses rather than a collection available to buy [2]. E Ink frames the collaboration as a design proposition — one garment with programmable appearances — rather than a product launch.

After the show, a selection of the garments appears in the "JUST AN REAL AGE" exhibition in Paris from October 2 to 5, 2026, at 76 Rue de Turenne in the 3rd arrondissement. E Ink also plans to show the craftsmanship at events in 2027, including COMPUTEX and InfoComm [1].

Terms

• E Ink Prism: a programmable electronic material made of many small segments that can switch colors and patterns; used in architecture and signage before its fashion debut.
• E-paper (electrophoretic display): a display technology that moves charged pigment particles to form an image, reflects ambient light rather than emitting it, and holds the image with no continuous power.

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