Light-up shoes

A typical light-up shoe for adults, where the LED ribbon is inside a translucent sole

Light-up shoes or LED shoes are footwear that have built-in LEDs, usually in the sole of the shoe. These specialized shoes may be used at parties, festivals, raves and to increase visibility. ^[1]

Originally light-up shoes were marketed towards children, ^{[2] [3]} and they had a mechanism where the shoe would light up every time the person would step on the ground with them. ^[4] Ravers use these type of shoes for ostentatious dancing, such as shuffling.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

Light-up shoes first became available in 1992. ^{[5] [6]}

See also

• List of shoe styles

References

1. Denault, Sebastian Ramirez (2014). Evaluation of smart-fabric approach to biomechanical energy harvesting (Bachelor of Science thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/92178.
2. Kazemitabaar, Majeed; Norooz, Leyla; Guha, Mona Leigh; Froehlich, Jon E. (2015-06-21). "MakerShoe". Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interaction Design and Children. Boston Massachusetts: ACM. pp. 449–452. doi:10.1145/2771839.2771883. ISBN   978-1-4503-3590-4. S2CID   17301898.
3. "When were LED shoes popular?". evfntkids.com. December 26, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
4. "How Light Up Sneakers Work". complex.com. Complex. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
5. Rossen, Jake (July 11, 2024). "Kid Lit: When LA Gear's LA Lights Sneakers Created a Frenzy". mentalfloss.com. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
6. Hicks, Jan (April 11, 2019). "It seemed like a good idea at the time: Light-up heels". scienceandindustrymuseum.org.uk. Retrieved September 7, 2025.