This dress was my first time working with stretch fabrics like lycra and spandex. It began when I found this amazing metallic blue lycra on a routine trip to the fabric store one afternoon. I couldn't resist the shiny, so I bought several yards of it. I didn't have a costume in mind at the time, but I thought it would make an amazing club dress. I started thinking about design principles and decided I wanted something almost cyberpunk, with very clean lines, and perhaps a little Asian influence. Thus the Akihabara Dress was born.

The dress was in part inspired by pictures of the Akihabara District in Tokyo, which is where it takes its name. It is made of the unique metallic lycra, and buttons across the bodice to the shoulder with hematite buttons and black silk soutache button loops. The front placard is stiffened with interfacing and there is a row of hidden snaps underneath to make sure the dress stays in place.