Fashion

Laser Lapel: Meet the Miami Bro Clubbing Accessory of the Future

Popped collars? Too '90s. Designer watches? Trying too hard. Slotted sunglasses, Kanye-style? You must be kidding.

These accessories are for the clubgoing douchebags of yesteryear. But for the Miami bros of the future, the next big thing in club fashion is here. And it'll literally get you lit.

Feast your eyes on Laser Lapel, an LED accessory for your suit jacket that adds backlighting to your lapels. Founder Luke J. Flint hopes it'll take the Miami club scene by storm.

See also: Top Ten WTF Moments at Miami Fashion Week

The product is simple: A string of LED lights that attaches to the underside of your suit jacket lapel. But its effect is more complex, transforming the wearer into a neon-hued beacon of bro-ness. It's basically the menswear version of an Ocean Drive hotel sign. It costs $20, shipping and handling included. It has an all-caps, vowel-free hashtag: #LZRLPL. And it's the only way to ensure that you're the fanciest guy at Ultra this year.

Naturally, a product like this deserves representation in Miami. Flint, a commercial real estate broker living in Louisville, Ky. (and the guy posing in the white seersucker suit in Laser Lapel's promotional materials), says that eventually Laser Lapel will open offices in Miami.

"With all the lights, culture, and booming club scene, [Miami] is the best place for the product," he tells New Times via phone.

The product certainly seems to trade on Miami stereotypes of luxury cars and sexy women, especially in the promotional video above. But when asked about the seemingly random shots of cars and skylines, Flint laughs.

"You're not the first person to say that. Someone asked me if I was selling cars," he admits. "I was hoping to drive home the fact that everything cool has LED lighting -- even the brand new Mercedes. The whole emblem lights up with backlighting.... I was trying to drive [home the point] that cars and buildings, everything cool now has LED lighting."

Can't argue with him there.

KEEP MIAMI NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started Miami New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. With local media under siege, it's more important than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" program, allowing us to keep offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food and culture with no paywalls.
Ciara LaVelle is New Times' former arts and culture editor. She earned her BS in journalism at Boston University and moved to Florida in 2004. She joined New Times' staff in 2011.
Contact: Ciara LaVelle

Latest Stories