From groundbreaking digital collections to reshaping the dialogue between fashion and technology, Rakee Chen is redefining how we wear and experience fashion creatively.
Rakee Chen stands at the vanguard of a design revolution, where the boundaries of fashion, technology, and storytelling dissolve into immersive experiences. With a foundation in industrial and costume design, Chen’s work explores the intersections of structure, emotion, and cutting-edge innovation.
As the recipient of accolades like the 2024 CLO Virtual Fashion Inc. x Digital Fashion Week EARTHBOUND award and features in influential platforms such as Vogue and Epic Games Presents, Chen is reshaping the industry’s landscape. From crafting digital fabrics to collaborating with game developers, her work bridges physical and virtual realms. As we delve into the upcoming 2025 fashion weeks, we discuss with the designer to understand the inspiration behind her visionary collections.
In this exclusive interview, Chen reflects with Flanelle on the cinematic and digital influences shaping her collections, the fusion of technology with creative expression, and the future of a world where fashion is as interactive as it is transformative.
How have movies and digital art influenced your storytelling approach in fashion design?
Movies and digital art strongly shape my fashion design by adding narrative and emotion. I see clothing as a way to tell stories, similar to how films create worlds. The Wrapped, inspired by Dune, shows this clearly. I used digital tools to make virtual garments with flowing fabrics, desert tones, and futuristic details. Designing felt like creating costumes for movie characters. Digital art let me go further by using 3D modeling and rendering to create designs that are hard to make with traditional methods.
Having a foundation in industrial design and costume design, how have these disciplines shaped your perspective on creating wearable art?
Industrial design taught me to focus on structure and materials. Costume design showed me how to express emotion and tell stories through fabric. This combination helped me explore textiles in new ways. I experimented with projection on fabric to see how light and patterns interact with movement. In my latest collection EchoWanderer, I combined both by designing a program that turns music into visuals. This let me design garments that feel alive and connected to their environment.
What drew you to the intersection of fashion and technology?
I am interested in fashion and technology because it gives me more creative freedom. My background in industrial design also introduced me to interactive wearable devices. Printing is not a new technique, but I believe using technology to create new patterns is a way to make visual breakthroughs. Through digital fashion, I also explored how fashion connects with gaming. I became interested in digital fabrics and how simulations can make virtual materials feel real. This opened up new possibilities for design, allowing me to create garments that exist in both physical and digital spaces.
How do you see these fields evolving together?
I believe fashion and technology will continue to merge, creating new forms of expression and interaction. In the future, clothes might react to the environment, emotions, or music. Fashion will likely become more digital, with digital wardrobes and customized designs.
Winning awards such as the 2024 CLO Virtual Fashion Inc. x Digital Fashion Week EARTHBOUND award and the Highly Commended Awardat the2023 Rookie Awards is no small feat. What do these milestones mean to youpersonally and professionally?
I think these awards recognize the hard work and creativity I put into my projects. They show that I’m moving in the right direction and push me to keep improving. Professionally, they give my work more attention and help me connect with others in the fashion industry. EARTHBOUND award reinforced my belief in combining fashion with technology and storytelling. Through these projects, I also started collaborating with game developers to create fashion films that combine fashion, animation, and motion capture. This helped me learn new technologies and explore how fashion can connect with digital media.
Your designs have also been featured in major publications like VOGUE and Inside FLANELLE, and presented by Epic Games. What does this visibility mean for your work and its evolution?
Being featured on such influential platforms is a great honor. This brings new opportunities and helps more people see my work. After Echo Wanderer came out, some music artists reached out to collaborate on performance outfits. I feel grateful and look forward to working with them!
These platforms influence fashion, art, and entertainment. Having my work featured shows that mixing fashion with technology can reach different industries. This makes me want to keep exploring new ideas and creating more opportunities for collaboration.
“Echo Wanderer” is a fascinating project that translates music into changing garment prints. What was the initial spark of inspiration behind this concept?
I have always been drawn to the idea of traveling with music and feeling the world’s rhythm along the way. When I lived in Atlanta, I often spent time at Closette, a local boutique where friends and I shared our passion for music and fashion. This made me think——what if music could be seen, not just heard?
I wanted to bring that feeling of freedom and sound into my design. I created the program that turns melodies and rhythms into patterns, using themes prints for the collection. To capture the sense of movement and calm, I chose mudflats with large rocks as the backdrop to reflect the idea of wandering in open spaces. The models read books in this quiet, wild setting, adding a peaceful and poetic feeling to the scene——almost like a story from another planet.
Could you walk us through the development process of this project? What technologies and techniques were integral to bringing it to life?
Echo Wanderer started by creating a program in TouchDesigner that generates visual patterns from music. I used projection mapping to place these patterns on mannequins. This helped me see how the prints fit with the shape of the garments. For the production, I used digital printing and water transfer to apply the patterns to the fabric. I also made a series of accessories that matched the same visual style. To add more texture and depth, I used padded fabrics and applied quilting along the organic, flowing lines of the prints.
How do you see projects like “Echo Wanderer” redefining the way people interact with fashion?
Echo Wanderer changes fashion by combining music, visuals, and storytelling into one experience. The prints are static but come from music visualizations. These designs turn the rhythm and emotion of sound into something people can wear. The garments are not just clothes but a way to express the essence of music. The project includes a music visualization video, which is also a concept film. It combines sound, visuals, and movement to create an immersive experience.
Where do you envision the future of tech-integrated design heading?
I think design will focus more on interaction and sustainability. Technology will makeit possible to create clothes that react to the wearer’s environment, mood, or movements. Smart textiles and AR/VR will let people experience fashion in both physical and virtual spaces. In addition, AI will help designers explore patterns, fabrics, and shapes in new ways, making the process faster and more creative.
With the rise of virtual runways, digital platforms, and interactive garments, how do you think these innovations will transform the industry in the next decade?
Designers can show their work to a global audience without the limits of physical events.Virtual runways and digital platforms will make fashion more open and inclusive. Besides, interactive garments will let people customize their clothes in real-time, making fashion more personal. These innovations will also help the industry become more sustainable by reducing the need for physical samples. Over the next decade, fashion will combine physical and digital designs, giving consumers more control over their style.
Are there any upcoming projects you’re particularly excited about? Could you share a glimpse of how they might blend technology, storytelling, and fashion?
I’m excited to share that Echo Wanderer will be featured at NYFWin February in collaboration with The Ethereal Show. This is a great chance to present the collection to a wider audience. The showcase will include the garments and a music visualization video. I’m also working on a new project that explores performance fashion by designing custom garments inspired by musicians’ compositions. This project takes the concepts from Echo Wanderer further, creating designs that reflect the rhythm and mood of their music.
