At the 2016 Met Gala, Zac Posen created Claire Danes’s Cinderella-inspired gown that glowed in the dark.
Danes wore a custom Zac Posen ball gown made from a pale blue organza incorporating fiber-optic technology. The dress appeared soft and traditional under ordinary lighting, then illuminated dramatically in the dark, creating a visual effect that recalled Cinderella’s transformation.
The outfit was produced for the gala’s theme, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.” Posen worked with materials and lighting components to make the gown function as both couture and a technological demonstration.
The dress is sometimes described as a Disney costume, but it was a custom fashion design rather than an official film costume. Posen is the correct designer; the Met Gala was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on May 2, 2016.