Four students majoring in Fashion Technology participated in Boston Fashion Week 2022 through the Peers + Pros Project, a creative learning initiative that pairs students with a team of professionals from the Koch Institute, the Heide Maker Hub at the MIT Museum, Boston Public Library’s Teen Central, and School of Fashion Design, Boston. The collaboration resulted in Science Surfaces, a capsule collection of body coverings and accessories that served as canvases for digital prints of ideas inspired by award-winning biomedical images produced by life science research labs at MIT.
After visiting the Koch Institute Public Galleries to tour the 2022 Image Awards exhibition and learn about the science behind the images, the teams formulated and refined their design concepts through research and development meetings about zero-waste design strategies. They further expanded their skill set by creating accessories to accompany the textile design in a series of hands-on 3D printing workshops.
The experience culminated in a runway presentation as part of the Cambridge Science Festival’s Fashion Day and opening day of Boston Fashion Week. The students, their collaborators, and the scientists whose images inspired their work provided the audience with reflections afterwards. The designs and images remained on display until early spring.
“Once we learned that this project was focused on sustainability and creating zero-waste garments, it pushed us all to think outside of the box.”
— BAA Fashion Tech Student Fiona Shine Duncan
