Silk? Meh. Taffeta? Blergh. When it came time to craft her latest dress, Dutch artist Anouk Wipprecht instead turned to 3D printing and one of Intel’s teensy Edison modules for something truly special. The end result? A “spider” dress that leaps to defend its wearer when it senses motion. 

​2014 has been a banner year for wearable technology. The trend of integrating robotics into clothing has found all sorts of unexpected outlets, from sports, to parenthood, to impulse control. One of the most creative leaders of this merger of fashion and technology is Dutch engineer and designer Anouk Wipprecht, who specializes in electronic couture—wearables with a futurist twist. Earlier this year she debuted a Faraday’s Cage dress capable of withstanding millions of volts of electricity, and she’s also known for outfits that paint themselves, or that record and expose the wearer’s mood.