It is a dress that could save your life - it's claimed.
Its designers at Catalytic Clothing claim the nanotechnology "Herself" dress reduces pollution and purifies the air.
Although the dress looks like something you'd see on a high-fashion catwalk, at molecular level some interesting science is happening.
Behind the chiffon is a photocatalyst which breaks down airborne pollutants by harnessing energy from sunlight.
For large cities like London and Beijing this could have a serious impact on air quality.
Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics the city attracted negative coverage with concerns about high pollution levels.
The city had to consider ways to clean up its act and improve air quality. Beijing environmental chiefs claimed by July 2008 it had reduced pollution by 15 - 20 per cent compared to the same month in 2007.
However, one weapon the city didn't have in its arsenal was the titanium dioxide dress.
The "Herself" dress is sprayed with TiO2 solution.
The dress was a collaboration between Professor Helen Storey of the London College of Fashion and scientist Professor Tony Ryan of Sheffield University.
Professor Ryan explains how the technology behind the dress works.
"A light ray comes in, hits the particle, that excites electrons. Those electrons then interact with oxygen. And oxygen has two oxygen atoms together joined by a bond and it splits them apart and makes this thing called a free radical that has a lone electron. Electrons like to go around in pairs, so this lone electron runs around to find another electron to pair with and it makes peroxide and that peroxide does all the rest of the reactions," he says. And it's this reaction that cleans the air.
The technology is not new and has been featured in paints and glass to coat buildings; but it has never been applied to fashion garments before.
Professor Ryan believes this is a key development because the technology requires wind to make it work. For a stationary building this relies on nature to provide the breeze, but as human beings move around they create their own source of wind.
But the technology only works if people are prepared to wear the clothes. For this reason, designers at the London College of Fashion created a dress with the wow factor to convert sceptics.
The "Herself" dress designer, professor Helen Storey, created this bespoke piece to help publicise the technology.
She explains the inspiration behind the design.
"It's the material visualisation, if you like, of the technology. And we've tried to put as many messages into it as possible. So the patterning on it, for example, is the arteries of the human lung because we're talking about respiratory health and the impact of pollution on your lungs. We've gone from a dark colour to a light colour, so we're trying to symbolise going from dirty to clean. We've used and sprayed the inside of the dress with a pebble dash of concrete because that allows us to have that conversation and say it's not a huge, scary, never heard of before technology, it already exists - in cement and paint and all the rest of it," she says.
Model Erin O'Connor liked the idea of the ecological clothing and agreed to a photo shoot wearing the dress.
Catalytic Clothing is an example of nanotechnology - an area of science about the control of matter at a molecular scale.
The clothing doesn't specifically to attract air pollution, and only breaks down pollutants it comes into contact with.
Catalytic Clothing starts breaking down the pollutants immediately on contact and any remaining pollutants will be washed away next time you do the laundry.
The titanium dioxide solution can be applied to any garment, either by spraying it, weaving it into the fabric at construction, or - the method the University professors favour - by adding the ingredient to washing powders.
In theory any item of clothing could feature the titanium technology, however, some are more suited than others.
"Any item of clothing could be treated, but in order for the technology to work you need light. So, for example, you wouldn't want to coat your underpants," says Professor Ryan.
Air pollution is a serious health risk - particularly for those living in busy urban centres.
Frank Kelly is Professor of Environmental Health at Kings College London.
He says as industry has left the city centres the major source of air pollution is from motor vehicles, and in particular heavy diesel engines found in busses.
Professor Kelly says air pollution can reduce quality of life and lower life expectancy.
"Well if we consider the effect of air pollution on our health the most recent figures suggest in the worst case it can lead to fatality," says Professor Kelly. "If you live in a major urban environment like London where the pollution concentration is higher logic would suggest that would be even worse, in terms of health outcome."
One dress is not going to make much difference to the air quality in London, but Professor Ryan believes if the technology became widespread it could cause a dramatic reduction in the levels of pollution.
The data available from its architectural applications shows one square metre takes out half a gram of nitrous dioxide every day.
Professor Ryan estimates an average suit contains ten square metres of thread which could be treated with titanium dioxide - this would equate to five grams of nitrous dioxide taken out of the air every day.
"Let's say there are 10 million people in London. So a conservative estimate would be that those 10 million people - if they only took one gram out each - that would take out ten tons of nitrous oxide in London every day," says Professor Ryan.
So is this high-fashion dress a harbinger for cleaner air?
In cities like Beijing - where smog drifts across a burning sun - it could have a positive impact on the population's quality of life.
APTN