Pauline van Dongen

Pauline van Dongen is a Dutch designer working with smart textiles and wearable technology. Trained as a fashion designer, she completed a PhD at Eindhoven University of Technology and founded her studio in 2010; based in the Netherlands, the practice develops textiles that respond to the body, to light and to the surrounding environment.

Technology is treated as a tactile and expressive material rather than a hidden component. The Wearable Solar garments and Phototrope turned solar cells and LEDs into clothing, while SUNTEX moves the research to textile architecture: a solar fabric for canopies, facades and tents that generates energy while casting cooling shade. Current strands include haptic technology, breathing surfaces, weaving and energy harvesting.