MACRO – Museum of Contemporary Art, Rome, reaffirms its commitment to interdisciplinary research and contemporary discourse with Science Fashion, a project comprising conferences, workshops, screenings, talks, presentations, and installations featuring international figures that explore the relationships among fashion, science, and new technologies.
All events are free to attend and will be held in English.
This event forms part of the wider, multi-year project Experiments in Fashion and Art, launched by Dobrila Denegri in 2024, with the aim of bringing to Rome practices and research that are radically and sustainably innovating fashion. For this edition, the project is promoted by the Department of Culture of Roma Capitale and Azienda Speciale Palaexpo, and is organised in collaboration with Azienda Speciale Palaexpo and Macro – Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome.
Curated by Dobrila Denegri, the project brings together in Rome some of the most innovative voices in international research on experimental fashion, inviting them to reflect on the possibilities opened up by artificial intelligence, advanced materials and emerging technologies, whilst challenging the boundaries of the discipline and the role of the designer in the present day.
The title ‘Science Fashion’ deliberately evokes the world of science fiction: the work of the creatives involved straddles the boundary between scientific research and vision, tackling pressing issues such as the environment, climate change, energy and the coexistence of species through radical approaches.
The programme is divided into four thematic sections — renewal, dematerialisation, interaction and recovery — and offers a reflection that does not aim to define new trends, but rather to bring about a profound transformation in the way fashion is conceived, produced and interpreted. From this perspective, fashion extends beyond the realm of the wearable: some research explores pure virtuality, detached from the body and matter, whilst others experiment with new forms of materiality, combining natural principles and technological knowledge in intelligent, adaptive systems. Still others investigate the integration of clothing and technology or focus on collaborative practices and models of co-creation.
Conceived as a space for the exchange of different – and even divergent – perspectives, ‘Science Fashion’ serves as a platform for reflection on the future of fashion, not only in terms of production but also in the field of education, drawing on disciplines such as design, art and fashion studies.
For the 2026 edition, Rome is hosting, for the first time, international figures who are redefining the boundaries of fashion through science and technology. Among them, Adi Gil of the New York-based collective threeASFOUR, in conversation with Gloria Maria Cappelletti, explores the possibilities of fashion in the multiverse; Danish designer Jens Laugesenand Croatians Silvio Vujičić and Miro Roman present research developed through a critical and creative use of artificial intelligence.
Alongside them, leading figures in education, such as the Austrian Ute Ploier and the Dutch Elisa van Joolen, reflect on the future of fashion education together with Rome’s leading academies. The award-winning documentary film ‘Dust to Dust’, dedicated to experimentation with new materials led by the Japanese designer Yuima Nakazato, will be screened.
The project also includes a series of educational and participatory events: on 12 May, NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti is hosting two workshops open to students, led by Christina Dörfler and Giulia Tomasello; on 14 May, at MACRO, Romana Andò is leading a group brainstorming session entitled ‘The Digital Turn in Fashion Education: Experimentation, Heritage, and New Perspectives’.
The initiative is organised with the support of international institutions, including the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Media and Sport of the Republic of Austria and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Rome; the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media; the Danish Arts Foundation and the Danish Academy in Rome; FASHIONCLASH (Maastricht); Sapienza University of Rome and UnitelmaSapienza; NABA, Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti; University of Art and Design Linz; Arizona State University; the Academy of Fine.
For more information: https://efa.community/science-fashion/participants-sf/