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DE👗 “I’m a fashioneer,” says @shebuildsrobots (Christina Ernst). “I combine fashion and engineering to make wearable, magical technology.” Bringing together her two passions, Christina pulls inspiration from the world of fantasy to design and engineer her incredible creations. Her work combining engineering and fashion began in college, when she entered a hackathon with a bluetooth-controlled, color-changing dress — a true lightbulb moment. “I realized that fashion and e-textiles was an excellent vehicle for sparking girls’ interest in coding and electronics.” This revelation led her to develop a curriculum of art-based circuit and coding projects for young creators, now called She Builds Robots.
For Christina, technology is real-world magic. “Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” she says. “With the right training and tinkering, anyone can bring their ideas to life in a way that, to me, is genuinely magical.” This inspires projects like this hand-sewn, self-twirling dress made from recycled fabric and a wearable circuit with motors to give it a life of its own. She always begins with her imagination: “If we lived in a magical world, what would the villain be wearing, or the hero? What would clothing look like?” she says. “Once I have an idea, I think through all of the engineering components I have available to me that could bring the idea to life.” When the vision comes together, she prototypes with cardboard, paper, and tape, moves on to 3D-printed parts, and then brings her creations to life.
What’s next for Christina? “Expect to see many more robotic fashion looks!” she says. “It’s a dream of mine to design for the Met Gala someday.” 🪡
Music by Symphonic Planet
#bespoke #FashionTech #TextileDesign #robotics #fashioneering
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