Winner: On Research Opportunity

Pearl Academy, India, Undergraduate in Fashion Design

Through her concept, Harleen wishes to bring forth the needs of pregnant and post-partum runners by blending sports science with maternity-wear. Her aim is to create maternity activewear that not only embraces the growing pregnant body but also works with the wearer’s body movement, instead of against it; all the while providing a snug fit, supporting both the mother and foetus in the correct areas, providing coolness when the body temperature rises, and monitoring the baby’s health using a Foetal heart rate monitor.

She achieves this using a 28-gauge seamless circular knit with compression zones for support and a pocket for foetal heart-rate sensor. She uses also makes use of ChillSense recycled polyamide yarn, which transfers the heat from the body to the fabric more quickly, thus creating a cool sensation.

“Harleen was able to take the initial brief and turn her work into a perfect hybrid of innovation, sustainability and consumer centricity while keeping the aesthetic in mind,” said James Thompson, Head of Materials at On. “Her ideas built on pre-existing processes but dared to push beyond the known, challenged industry perceptions and captured the zeitgeist of environmental problem solving and diversity and inclusion gaps in today’s textile industry.”