Visionary design duo Lana Dumitru and Vlad Tenu have reinterpreted tradition for the next space age, with a hybrid art-meets-tech dress made with Crystals from Swarovski. Foræva is about two designers putting the past into the future in the shape of a crystal dress. So, take a look at this stunning 25,000 Crystals from Swarovski in a Dress from Foræva!

“A red carpet outfit on Mars.” In a nutshell, this is how design duo – fashion designer, Lana Dumitru, and architect, Vlad Tenu – describe the FORÆVA dress. In truth, it is a feat which has combined the folk pattern on an age-old Romanian rug after it was digitally reconstructed through 3D computer simulations and bespoke algorithmic design methods with over 25,000 neon-bright and colorful Swarovski crystals.

The jaw-dropping dress is the showpiece of their FORÆVA commercial collection represents what this unique, multidisciplinary design lab preaches: that identity and traditions not be lost on the path of inter-globalization, but will instead evolve in unexpected ways, shaped by technology and emotions.

Lana Dumitru & Vlad Tenu portrait. Photo by Christian Tudose

This limited edition design proves that handcrafts will still exist, but they’ll just be tailored to suit and benefit from new technologies. It took fifteen people nearly six months to assemble the dress!

The dress is being worn by Romanian model Andra Mirona Axentoi – they call her “Æva”. The crystals on her dress shimmer as she walks, playing with the low light and magnifying it so such a degree that they “let off” beads of glimmer that billow behind and above her like an effervescent (and colorful) twinkling cloud.

The multiple layers of the dress play with each other, each fold revealing yet another “plane” through which the traditional patterns of the Romanian rug inspiration are revived and enlivened.

The crystals from Swarovski in neon colors give to this dress such a futuristic/avant-garde style.

You might also like: Grand Soir: The New Timepiece by Dior

The color scheme of the neon colors crystals – which, coincidentally, also act as structural elements – doesn’t follow tradition, but is also updated to include bright yellows, punchy pinks, neon oranges and electric blues. It’s almost as if each crystal’s color has a story to tell and, as they all merge into the pattern, this story becomes elaborated and enriched.

The hours of careful work that went into first designing the dress (all facets, from the first sketch to final prototype) and then crafting it are indisputable. It might not be a garment that one can easily slip on for a day on planet Earth, but it certainly gives our imaginations a run for their money and makes a say for what the (colorful and innovative) red carpets of the future may very well look like one day soon!

So, this unique dress with crystals from Swarovski carries a positive and colorful message from the next century: identity and tradition will not be lost on the path of inter-globalization, they will evolve in unexpected ways, shaped by technology and emotions.