The Columbia College Chicago Fashion Lab is an interdisciplinary instrument for collaborations between academic and industry leaders who want to better understand and prepare for the future of fashion. As fashion increasingly collides with technology, sustainability, healthcare, entertainment, and more, all industries can benefit from fashion’s methods, approaches, and ways of seeing both the body and the world.

Directed by leading Columbia faculty, a curated team of intensively-trained and highly-creative students spend a semester researching and designing insights for partner organizations’ most difficult problems. These bespoke projects are structured as hands-on coursework for students, collaborating with professional researchers from across disciplines at Columbia.

At the end of a 15-week semester, each partner organization will receive a full report and presentation with original research, data, and design. Partners also gain access to a unique talent pipeline, cross-industry networking opportunities, and thought leadership seminars.