Lewis said she doesn’t remember a time when she wasn’t creating because she finds the process fascinating. In fact, she told us her inspiration to become a designer was drawn from her love of sharing such experiences with others—especially when it comes to new ways to understand light and color.
Some of her creations span from pillows that light up at a touch of a button, fiber-optic costumes for dogs to dresses that display the heartbeat of the person wearing the design!
Lewis remembers being a five-year-old, wanting to sew things together. She told us the skills she learned as a girl—sewing, beading, constructing, gluing and cutting—are all the same skills you use to do electronics, they’re just spoken using different words. “If you can read a pattern on how to knit, you can learn how to code. And if you can figure out how to draw your own dress pattern, you can learn how to read diagrams,” she said. “It’s exactly the same part of your brain.”
Eventually, she attended Parsons University, where she attained a Masters Degree in Design that only helped Lewis further her passion for fashion. “I like really nice things, and I like making really nice things,” she said.
We asked her where she first got such an idea to incorporate technology within her designs. “I saw people making these really cool costumes that inflated and deflated. And while it’s not something I wanted to make, I thought, ‘wow, this is it.’ This is magic that I’ve always wanted to play with.”
Lewis told us she also missed using her hands. “And fashion technology is the best way to do that. I can combine my love designing on the web through technical software,” she said. “Then I can combine that with reality, which is to feel, touch, and experience something in real space.”