Yana Mikhailava

HaloSync - Social Wearable

Wearable Arts

2025

HaloSync is a social wearable that turns audience movement into atmospheric lighting. The prototype proposes a set of LED-illuminated decorative rave braids that incorporate physical computing, soft circuits, and an Adafruit FLORA microcontroller. The piece responds to movement in real time, generating animations that ripple outward as the wearer dances. It is inspired by my personal experiences with live music: the way crowds raise their hands, phones, and lighters in unison, performing alongside the artists on stage. HaloSync is a comfortable intervention that allows the audience members themselves to become the light show just by dancing to the music. The work also responds to a quieter inequity in live music, where elaborate visual production tends to belong to large-scale shows while smaller venues and local artists go without. By seamlessly blending existing rave fashion with open-source technology it gives a community the means to transform any space with their presence and enjoyment.

“Although HaloSync was built as part of an Electronic Wearables course, it feels personal to me since it addresses an issue that I deeply care about. I went to an art-focused highschool and love to involve myself in the Toronto live music community. I see how hard small artists and local venues work to host experiences and the way they put their heart into it. Although Toronto is known internationally to be an arts and culture hub, most of our small venues struggle to make a living and yet continue to host events on a pay-what-you-can basis. A good crowd has always been central to a good experience which is why I built HaloSync to be something that people would actually like to wear.”