Miami Design Student Creates Robot Dress for NY Fashion Week

Maia Hirsch, 24, a mechanical engineer from upstate Ithaca, enrolled in a fashion design course at the Istituto Marangoni Miami in 2020 as a “fun, therapeutic outlet amid the chaos” while studying in Florida during the pandemic lockdowns.

Now those Miami design classes have launched Hirsch onto the runway at Times Square nightspot Dramma, where she’ll debut her “Blooming Dress” and “Gazing Dress” at SFWRunway’s “Future of Fashion” show Saturday.

“I’m so honored to be changing the idea of what an engineer or a roboticist looks like by breaking stereotypes,” Hirsch told The New York Post. “Fashion is a high-visibility industry. So, my work allows science to go into very public and cultural spaces, where it couldn’t go before.”

The Venezuelan-born designer’s “Blooming Dress” transforms into a white flower with a simple handshake. Touch sensors embedded in the model’s palm activate motors that cause organza petals to bloom from the cotton foundation.

“There are very small touch sensors that go in the palm of the model’s hand,” Hirsch explained. “So whenever they come in contact with anything, it will activate the whole mechanism, including the motors in the dress, that causes it to bloom.”

Her second creation, the “Gazing Dress,” uses optical fibers and stretch sensors to illuminate in response to the wearer’s body movements.

Hirsch spent over four months and “thousands” of dollars in grant funding perfecting each piece at Cornell Maker Club workspaces, using 3D printers, laser cutters and embedded systems. The process involved countless hours of sketching and trial-and-error, sometimes “frying” her designs through accidental short-circuits.

“Both dresses will be worn by models during the New York Fashion Week show,” said Hirsch, who has previously displayed her work only on stationary mannequins. “It’s going to be so beautiful.”

The Miami connection proves significant for Hirsch’s mission to attract more women to male-dominated STEM fields. Women currently hold only 30% of STEM jobs across North America, according to US Department of Labor data, despite growth from a mere 7% in the 1970s.

“I’m excited to share my work because I live by the phrase, ‘You cannot be what you cannot see,’” Hirsch said. “And I want other women to know that they can be engineers and still love fashion and maintain that side of your femininity. You don’t have to trade off one for the other just to belong.”

Hirsch draws inspiration from Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen, who created the world’s first 3D-printed bridal gown and has designed tech-infused pieces for celebrities including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

While Hirsch’s current creations aren’t ready for celebrity red carpets due to their delicate electronics and weather sensitivity, she sees them as the future of fashion.

“Fashion shouldn’t just be worn — it should also be experienced,” Hirsch said. “Mechanical engineering gives me the ability to create things that have never been made before, and layer fashion on top of them.”