PRESENCE of HEART is an emotionally functional dress that uses your heartbeat as a fashionable expression and human connection. It debut at SXSW 2012.

Austin, TX – SXSW (March 12, 2012) – Agent of Presence, a new innovative fashion design firm, has created a heart-sensing dress that displays the wearer’s heartbeat as light and sends the beat wirelessly to mobile devices.

The dress, titled Presence of Heart, is the first design shared with the public to promote the company’s vision for the future of fashion. “We see the fashion at an intersection with technology in ways that are interactive, beautiful and communicative.” Says founder, Alison Lewis “Fashion has deep historical, social, and expressive qualities that mix well with sensing and textile
technologies.”

The dress had its debut at SXSW on a Fashion Technology panel alongside Ping Fu (Geomagic), Janet Hanson (Enlighted Designs), and Sheridan Martin Small (Microsoft Research Labs and Xbox).

As the model walked the center aisle, her dress glimmered with cascading light to the rhythm of her heart. Alison then held up an iPAD that received a signal from the dress and activated a graphic pulsating heart in time with the model’s.

Ms. Lewis, a veteran of SXSW, was voted One of the Most Influential Women in Technology by Fast Company and has been speaking, designing, and writing about fashion technology for 10 years.
“I’ve been watching and waiting for the perfect time to start my own line of interactive fashion,” she says, “we now have the team and technology and we’re ready to show the world what we can do.”

After the debut to the interactive audience, Ms. Lewis and her team took the dress out to the music festival among artists, industry representatives and fans.

Alana Yoel, co-founder of Agent of Presence, says “the lighting of the dress was so subtle that the model was the center of attention without being a spectacle. I have never seen fashion technology blend so seamlessly in a public space. To me, this reaction proves that a
stylish mass market is ready for interactive clothing.”

When asked in an interview if wearing the dress made her feel self conscious, Elena Abate (the model) said “Not at all, I like it … It’s cool to see what you can’t see … and cool to see how it reacts to someone else.” When asked about the wireless function she responded “I love it and I like that she’s (Alison) holding my heart.”

The entire process of making the dress is documented online at heartbeat.agentofpresence.com. You can sign up for information on future products from Agent of Presence at www.agentofpresence.com.

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Agent of Presence is a pioneer in the development of innovative fashion for the mass market. We create fashion and accessories that embrace the collision of fashion and technology without sacrificing style.