Open Style Lab

Open Style Lab (OSL) is a non-profit founded out of MIT in 2015 with the mission to make style accessible to people of all abilities by educating designers and industry, raising awareness through events and workshops, and providing resources to the disabled community to enable ownership and dismantle design barriers in their daily lives. 

Through our educational summer program, we showcase what is possible when collaborative design and functionality meet by bringing together designers, engineers, occupational therapists, and people with disabilities to design functional wearable solutions for people of all abilities without compromising style.

In 2019 we were awarded the Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt - Emerging Designer of the Year for our work within wearable technology, innovative textile applications, and exhibitions. Our impactful journey has been captured in a Hulu documentary, and in 2022 our work was showcased at the first-ever disability-focused runway show at New York Fashion Week; below is a link to some publications covering our work, such as recent articles in Vogue and Forbes. 

Snippet from the Hulu Documentary: https://youtu.be/YQFO2QitskM  

Vogue OSL: https://www.vogue.com/article/adaptive-fashion-show-at-nyfw 

Our work extends beyond fashion to a fundamental rethinking of inclusivity and the human experience, With a mission to revolutionise the industry, fostering a world where everyone has a place in the narrative of style. Passed collaboration examples include various industries from IKEA - furniture design, Cooper Hewitt - Universal Materiality Exhibitions, and Microsoft - Surface adaptive kit., We will also be showcasing our work at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK at the Design and Disability exhibition June 2025 - Feb 2026.