Material World is a weekly roundup of innovations and ideas that are reshaping the materials sector. It covers the latest developments in how fashion is designed, engineered, and scaled—from emerging biomaterials and next-generation leathers to engineered fibers and sustainable alternatives.

Anrealage sent six dresses down its Paris runway with a trick beneath their scales: They could change color.

The Japanese label incorporated E Ink Prism 3 into its spring 2027 “SKIN” collection, which debuted Sept. 29 during Paris Fashion Week. Each dress featured roughly 1,000 to 2,000 individual pieces arranged in a scale-like pattern.

Together, the pieces created programmable colors and patterns across the garments’ surfaces. Unlike a conventional light-emitting display, E Ink’s technology reflects ambient light. Its bistable design requires power when an image changes but not to hold that image in place.

The dresses extend the technology beyond the e-readers and electronic labels for which E Ink is best known. Prism has also appeared on cars, interior surfaces and accessories, including color-changing Delvaux handbags shown in 2024.

E Ink described the ability to produce several looks from one garment as a more sustainable form of creative expression. However, the company offered no product-level environmental assessment, and changing a dress’s appearance does not mean it replaces the production or purchase of additional clothing.

The runway provided a striking demonstration of electronic ink as a wearable surface. E Ink did not disclose how the dresses were powered, how much the components added to their weight, whether the garments could be cleaned or whether any would be sold.

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