illumiNITE

The convergence of textiles and science has opened an incredible number of doors for the future. Sue Teixeira (president), Meg DeCubellis (creative director) and Michelle Brennan (design and development) take advantage of this trend by creating technologically advanced reflective clothing for runners and cyclists. Their stylish products look ordinary by day, but glow in the light at night. Instead of using stiff reflective tapes and trims, their brand IllumiNITE by BackAtcha Apparel LLC embeds microscopic beads into the weave of the fabric. IllumiNITE calls these beads “sataLITE™ Dish” beads because their mirror-like surfaces direct light back to the source. When these beads are put into ink form and printed onto the fabric, the reflection is in the shape of the human, rather than just strips or spots of light.