MIT researchers working on AI-powered Refashion software that brings eco-friendly apparel to life
Refashion breaks down the apparel design process into modules, making it easier to plan each element of the item. This creates a blueprint for turning each component into new clothing, such as pants that can be refashioned into a dress.
Users can draw shapes and place them together, creating an outline for adaptable garments - such as a skirt that can be adapted into a dress for a formal dinner, or maternity wear that fits during each stage of pregnancy.
“We wanted to create garments that consider reuse from the start,” explains Rebecca Lin, MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) PhD student, CSAIL and Media Lab Researcher, and lead author on a paper presenting the project.
“Most clothes you buy today are static, and are discarded when you no longer want them. Refashion instead makes the most of our garments by helping us design items that can be easily resized, repaired, or restyled into different outfits.”
Refashion can also be used to reconfigure existing garments into new ones, making sustainable fashion more accessible.
“Rebecca’s work is at an exciting intersection between computation and art, craft, and design,” adds Erik Demaine, MIT EECS Professor and CSAIL principal investigator. “I’m excited to see how Refashion can make custom fashion design accessible to the wearer, while also making clothes more reusable and sustainable.”
