A multiresponsive organogel of (E)-N′-(anthracene-10-ylmethylene)-3,4,5-tris(dodecyloxy)benzohydrazide (I) showed a decrease of fluorescence intensity, decrease in mechanical strength and a change in gel morphology on irradiation with a wavelength of 365 nm. This is attributed to the E-Z isomerization across the CN bond of I as evidenced from 1H NMR spectroscopy. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.