DFS X Artist 2025: Tech Meets Textiles

Explore how students and seniors turned secondhand textiles into eco-fashion using 3D printing and laser cutting. Visit Science Centre Singapore's Digital Fabrication Space to join future workshops.

Last updated 29 April 2026

Students and seniors transform secondhand textiles into stunning eco-fashion using 3D printing and laser cutting at Science Centre Singapore's runway show.

Woman in white and blue dress holds a decorative crown-shaped prop on a lit stage before a crowd.

Who says fashion can't slay whilst saving the Earth? Attendees were wowed by stunning fashion designs using sustainable materials and digital fabrication technologies at the DFS X Artist Grand Finale held on Saturday 1 November 2025 at Science Centre Singapore's Marquee event space.

Over 100 young artists from eight schools participated in the programme, alongside seniors from two active ageing centres: Yuhua Sewmates and the Adventist Active Centre @ Kallang Trivista. Started in 2022, the DFS X Artist Programme is a groundbreaking STEAM initiative bringing professional artists, community partners, and students together to explore the intersections of art, design, and digital fabrication.

Initiated by Science Centre Singapore's Digital Fabrication Space (DFS), participants learn foundational skills such as 3D printing, laser cutting, vinyl cutting, and electronics to create their very own artworks, including fashion pieces. In 2023, DFS X Artist launched their annual runway show to spotlight the innovation and interdisciplinary creativity of participants' designs.

This year's programme was sponsored by Applied Materials and supported by SG Eco Fund. The 2025 theme "Sustainability and Upcycling" tasked participants with designing eco-conscious clothing utilising secondhand textiles. Fashion designers and student instructors from Temasek Polytechnic's School of Design mentored school groups, whilst community organisers from social enterprise Commenhers guided participants from ageing centres.

In her opening speech for the DFS X Artist Grand Finale, Ms Tham Mun See, Chief Executive of Science Centre Board, called this year's theme "very timely and pertinent," explaining that "when we use synthetic fabric to make garments, and then we dispose of it very quickly, we actually contribute to environmental waste."

She stressed, "These garments don't just [go] away. They actually fragment into microplastics, which then seep into the soil and water and air, killing some animals and plants."

The participants' designs "transform used textiles into upcycled fashion pieces that don't just look stunning but also tell meaningful stories about the planet we share," Ms Tham wrote in a foreword for the DFS X Artist 2025 programme booklet.

"Their work is a reminder that art doesn't just reflect the world, it can help reshape it for a more sustainable tomorrow."

Eco-Design Takes Centre Stage

The thirty-one bespoke runway outfits showcased kaleidoscopic views of nature, with fashion pieces presenting style statements about the state of the Earth. The designs referenced everything from forest biodiversity to marine life, industrial eras to ocean pollution, and Asian animal spirits to futuristic technologies.

Among the standout looks was an iceberg-blue iridescent ball gown inspired by the moon jelly Aurelia aurita. In their description for the show booklet, student designers Matriano Ianah Reisha, Toh Jia Jun, Alena Piong Jia Ying, Stanislas Chur Song Zhi, and Chong Yu Xuan from Regent Secondary School wrote that the jellyfish is "ephemeral, luminous, and now imperilled." Trailing translucent "tentacles" made from plastic bags and bottles, together with a sea sponge bag, complemented the dress, which they emphasised told a story of "beauty under siege."

A young woman walks a runway in a purple iridescent ruffled gown holding a feathery accessory, with seated audience on both sides.

Other aquatic-inspired designs featured flowy organza fabrics juxtaposed with fishing net drapings and accoutrements like 3D-printed marine animal hair pieces.

A young woman in a blue lace gown holds a lace parasol on a lit runway with an audience watching.

Drawing inspiration from flora, student designers Claire Tan, Ooi Jen Nin Dilys, Wong Beatrice Clare, and Lim Xin Er Crystal from Nan Chiau High School created "Petals of Grace", a giant maximalist bejewelled bodice. Reminiscent of a huge cream-white flower petal, the bodice was embellished with trinkets repurposing Spring Festival flower decorations, toilet paper rolls, plastic bottles, twine, and metal drink cans.

A model walks a lit runway in a purple floral dress with large flower embellishments, as seated audience members watch.

Another look, "Inferno" by Alicia Lim Li Si, Xu Yuxuan, and Leow He Myn Elise from Nanyang Girls' High School, featured an asymmetrical fairy-like fluttering green and gold leaf dress with a raw unhemmed yellow-orange underskirt trailing the floor like a forest fire.

A young woman in a green and orange ruffled gown walks a lit runway while seated spectators watch and photograph.

Other pieces explored ecotopian visions of tomorrow, from "Jagabi", a futuristic, modular modernist patchwork kimono made of denim and batik to show "fusion of both culture and technology" (designed by Ng Lin Xuan Valerie, Pua Yu Tong, and Foo Yew Ning from Nanyang Girls' High School) to a solarpunk "modern farmer" outfit, "To Grow a Garden", consisting of cargo pants with aluminium foil panels and LED lights styled with a utility vest and painted skateboard (designed by Jesse Huang Zi Yu, Lee Yee Ruu, Chloe Hu, and Yu Zhixuan from Nanyang Girls' High School).

A young model rides a rainbow skateboard down a lit runway in purple flared jeans and floral top before a seated audience.

Digital Craft Meets Sustainable Design

Beyond the visual spectacle, the DFS X Artist programme offered participants a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience bringing sustainable fashion concepts to life through digital fabrication technologies.

Marcus Low Hong Cheng from Canberra Secondary School modelled and helped create a Japanese-inspired outfit based on the mythical fox spirit kitsune with his teammates Aeryn Lim Wei Ting, Koh Rui En Vera, Nur Iffah Farliyssha Binte Muhammad Farhan, and Denisse Voo Xiao You. Considering himself more of a "science-leaning" student, he shared that he enjoyed learning art and design principles through the programme. His first fashion design experience taught him that "we don't need to use new fabric" as the team upcycled mesh, secondhand garments, satin, and batiste.

Person in white wig and red kimono holds a dark tattered parasol on a lit stage at a fashion event.

"We don't need to use cotton, all that stuff to create new fashionable clothes. Instead, we could use the resources around us... to help sustain our life and help to improve the environment," Marcus said. The team painstakingly designed their look with a careful choice of materials, including electronics to make their kimono glow. Inserting LED lights for the fox's "tail" of the garment alone took two to three hours with every team member's focused assistance.

Other students reaffirmed the sentiment that whilst secondhand textiles may be used, that doesn't mean they are unusable. Sophie Lum Wan Mei from Chung Cheng High School (Yishun) shared that she found it "amazing" that secondhand textiles could be "woven together in [so many] different ways." She was also surprised to learn that beyond upcycling, some fabrics such as 100% natural fibre clothing could be composted to enrich soils and reduce landfill waste.

Sophie and her teammates Cheong Hui Yi, Au Jing Wen, and San Jing Hui designed a steampunk-inspired look with a bustle skirt and trail from old denim. She shared that they learned how to add gathers and pleats to the blouse from the Temasek Polytechnic student instructors.

Student model on the runway in steampunk fashion

Besides learning essential sewing techniques, Sophie and her teammates received a foundational introduction to 3D modelling. The final outfit featured several gears as homage to the steam engine and railroad era. Technicians helped Sophie and her teammates print the pieces at Science Centre Singapore's Digital Fabrication Space. Sophie candidly shared her appreciation for the time it takes to master 3D software, explaining "it's much more technical than I thought it would be."

The programme encouraged participants to be resourceful and inventive. Arysya Natasya binte Muhammad from Canberra Secondary School explained that this year's theme and challenge to use upcycled fabrics helped her "expand her ideas" and creativity. "When you explore more further into the fashion world, you realise that everything can be used in different ways."

Weaving Communities Together

Elderly women walk a lit runway at a community event as seated audience applauds, with a red "Community Collaboration Work" screen behind.

The programme's inclusive approach created connections across generations and abilities. The DFS X Artist programme gathered designers across society, from students at special education (SPED) schools to senior makers from YuHua Sewmates and Adventist Active Centre @ Kallang Trivista, to create a community capsule collection.

Students from Canberra Secondary School on the runway

Students from Canberra Secondary School proudly modelled six ensembles comprising the seniors' dress pieces, accessorised with vests, tote bags, and bucket hats embellished by students from AWWA School @ Bedok, AWWA School @ Napiri, and Towner Gardens School.

The joyful accessories by the SPED students showcased bright Jackson Pollock-like paint splatters, a sprinkling of colourful buttons, and sew-on patches in the shapes of stars, hearts, leaves, clouds, and suns. Paired with the garments by senior makers featuring appliqués, lace embellishments, and shimmering fabrics rescued from scrap heaps, the runway looks evoked the vibrant patterns of fish scales or butterfly wings.

A young model walks a lit runway in colorful eclectic outfit with braids and decorated tote bag, audience seated on both sides.

A young model walks a lit runway in a colorful painted outfit and red bucket hat, with a seated audience watching.

Model on the runway in colourful clothes made of recycled materials

Madam Aminah binte Mohamed Kamari, a senior from Yuhua Sewmates who participated in the DFS X Artist programme in both 2024 and 2025, said, "I love this programme because it makes us more curious about design, [see] fashion is alive... and be creative."

A woman in a wheelchair waves on a runway at a community event, pushed by another woman, with an audience applauding.

An experienced seamstress, she shared that she finds "mixing technology with old ideas" fascinating and enhanced her own sewing knowledge by learning about more modern industrial techniques like Cricut and laser cutting. She also appreciated how the programme encourages "more youngsters to do sewing" and to inject new influences like cosplay into fashion design.

Madam Kamari and another maker from Yuhua Sewmates, Fatin, crafted hand-sewn and machine-sewn lace and patchwork embellishments on a shirt, skirt, and shorts representing "the universe" through mismatched textures that come together in harmony. She said the completed outfit also symbolised how "we can help not to clog the earth with all those fast fashion[s]."

Make Your Mark at Science Centre Singapore

A large group in colorful costumes poses on a stage in front of a red screen reading "DES ARTIST" with stage lights above.

View the DFS X Artist 2025 fashion pieces created by Yuhua Sewmates in person at Science Centre Singapore's activity booths at Yuhua Green Day 2026. Relive the DFS X Artist 2025 Showcase, make some eco-friendly crafts, and learn about Science Centre Singapore's programmes! Come by on 1 Feb 2026 from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM for a fun-filled sustainability fair that's free for all. See you then at Yuhua Village Hardcourt @ Blk 252 Jurong East St 24, S600252!

Ready to create your own tech-powered art pieces? Discover how you can transform everyday materials into extraordinary designs through the Digital Fabrication Space's public workshops and school programmes at Science Centre Singapore here: https://www.science.edu.sg/stem-inc/digital-fabrication-space.

Written by Jamie Uy

Published 15 December 2025
Last updated 22 January 2026