Women in Textile Engineering: The Voices Driving Fashion’s Circular Future

The fashion industry loves a spotlight—but it’s often fixed downstream: on brands, collections, runway shows, and luxury designers.

But fashion doesn’t start at the runway. It starts behind the scenes—deep in the supply chain. Behind every collection is a network of engineering, chemistry, manufacturing, and material innovation. Moreover, behind every garment, there are processes few talk about and people who rarely get recognized.

how often do we see women in these roles being acknowledged for their impact?

Take textile engineering. When was the last time a headline celebrated the scientists and innovators behind the fabrics that shape collections?

More importantly, how often do we see women in these roles being acknowledged for their impact?

In other words, without science, there is no fashion. No fiber, no fabric, no fit. The industry relies deeply on the brilliance of engineers, especially those pushing sustainable innovation through materials and textiles. It’s the technical backbone of fashion, often invisible but absolutely essential.

And yet, when it comes to women in these roles, the recognition gap is even wider.

Globally, only 15% of engineers are women (just 14% in the U.S.), and the numbers are even smaller in niche sectors like textile engineering.

That’s why it’s essential not just to celebrate this date, but to use it as a moment to shine a light on the women pushing this field forward, from the labs to the looms.

Today marks International Women in Engineering Day, and it’s a moment to pause and recognize just how critical female engineers are to the fashion system - particularly in a field like textile and material science, where visibility is low, and recognition often lags behind.

So keep reading, as we spotlight voices, stories, and breakthroughs that deserve far more visibility.

The Gender Gap in the Textile Industry

According to SCIRP, women account for over 80% of the global textile workforce. This proves fashion is, undeniably, a female-powered industry, from factory floors to store shelves, women make up the majority of the workforce.

And the ties between women and the fashion industry run deeper. As fashion influencer and activist Venetia La Manna reminds us, the origins of International Women’s Day trace back to this very connection: on March 8, 1908, a powerful movement took shape as about 15,000 women marched through the streets of New York City, demanding fairer wages, reduced working hours, the right to vote, and an end to child labor.

Later that year, in May, the Socialist Party of America designated the final Sunday of February as National Women’s Day, marking a pivotal moment in the fight for women’s rights in the U.S.

So, women and the fashion industry's labor force have been deeply connected for over a century. But the fruits of this connection, unfortunately, have often been exploitation—which increased in recent decades, as fast fashion expanded the demand for cheap, rapid labor.

“Fast fashion does not exploit workers equally—it disproportionately targets women, trapping them in cycles of economic and social oppression.”

— Solene Schirrer, Fabric of Change

This reality has been exposed through documentaries, news reports, and books. In Worn Out by Alissa Hardy, for example, the author interviews garment workers producing clothing for major fashion brands. One of them, Maria, explains: “There is so much work to do and we get paid by each item of clothing. We can’t stop.”

In the same book, Hardy contrasts Maria’s (and many of her colleagues’) $300 weekly wage with the fact that the top five fashion executives each made around $12 million a year, most of them men.

Beyond this, the exploitation isn’t one-dimensional. Rather, the way women are exploited in the fashion industry has many layers, shaped by cultural norms, regional dynamics, labor policies, and the broader intersections of gender, class, and migration.

For a deeper dive into these injustices, we recommend this article from Fabric of Change: it explores how the system is designed to keep women down, the perception of female workers as “disposable”, the vulnerability of immigrant women, and much more.

Circling back, despite women being the foundation of manufacturing in fashion, when you trace the hierarchy upward, where strategy is defined, innovation is funded, and futures are shaped, a different picture appears: one dominated by men, in numbers and in recognition.

Take textile engineering, for example: only 33.3% of textile engineering roles are held by women, according to Zippia.

Women are the backbone of production, but rarely seen at the frontlines of innovation and leadership—not because they aren’t capable or aren’t present. On the contrary, even if they are fewer in number, they are there - and they are active, bringing depth, expertise, and critical insight to decision-making.

However, what we see, instead, is an industry that has historically failed to make space for them or to give their contributions the visibility and recognition they deserve.

As Nailah Lymus, CEO UNDERWRAPS Agency, explained in an interview with CGTN (featured in the video below): “Women dominate behind the scenes and are very active in the decision making, but you tend to see men at the forefront of the mouthpieces to really [relay] the messages to what’s happening in the industry.”

The gender gap is real. And it matters.

Because the future of fashion doesn’t just depend on rethinking how materials are made, sourced, and scaled, but also on building just, equitable systems that open space for women and other historically marginalized groups to lead that transformation.

And while women in textile engineering may not be talked about enough, they are very much here. They exist and they’re contributing. They’ve always been. And in the next section, we’re shining a light on just a few (of many) of them.

Keep reading.

Women Who’ve Shaped—and Are Shaping—Textile Science and Engineering

Despite these systemic barriers, women in textile engineering - and in intersecting fields like science and biotechnology - have played a pivotal role in shaping the future of fashionn, from inventing key technologies to driving the shift toward sustainable systems thinking,

Their contributions have laid foundations and opened doors, not only through direct engineering breakthroughs, but also through innovations that rely on engineering as a core part of their impact. As we celebrate these changemakers, let’s meet some of the women redefining what's possible across engineering and its allied fields:

Martha Moss Quo

According to Georgia Institute of Technology, in 1958, Martha Moss Quo became one of the first five women to graduate from Georgia Tech—and did so in textile engineering.

Martha Moss Quo set out to study chemistry, but in the 1950s, that path wasn’t open to women at Georgia Tech.

Instead, she found a foothold in the School of Textiles, one of the few places on campus where chemistry and ambition could coexist for a woman. With that, Textile Engineering became her way in. Quo was one of just 30 women enrolled at the time.

In interview for Georgia Tech, she stated: “As far as I know there were two girls that graduated in ’56, and then we were the next girls to graduate from Tech, making us the third, fourth and fifth girls to get a degree. This was in the 50’s, and we were all women who weren’t looking to get married and raise kids right away. We had other interests and followed our dreams.”

At a time when the field was almost entirely male-dominated, her graduation marked not just a personal achievement, but a cultural signal: women belong in technical textile roles. Her presence in the program opened doors, but more importantly, it challenged deeply rooted norms about who gets to shape the materials we wear.

“[Women] should go for what they are interested in and shouldn’t let anyone or anything change their mind about what they want to do.”

— Quote from Martha Moss Quo, sourced from Georgia Institute of Technology’s Blog

Image from: Georgia Institute of Technology’s Blog

Amanda Parkes

Amanda Parkes is a fashion technologist who’s spent her career where biology, design, and computation meet. With dual degrees in Art History and Mechanical Engineering (Product Design) from Stanford, she’s carved out a space at the frontier—reimagining how smart materials and digital systems can reshape both what we wear and how it’s made.

According to Business of Fashion, Parkes developed high-tech textile applications for fashion, merging aesthetics with engineered functionality. She also founded Bodega Algae, a biotech venture exploring algal biomass as a pathway to clean energy. Although the company closed in 2012, it was recognized by the National Science Foundation for its innovation potential.

Today, she serves as Chief Innovation Officer at both Pangaia and Future Tech Lab, an investment company backing high-tech, sustainable solutions in material science and bio fabrication.

In an interview on the Glossy podcast, Parkes reflected:

When I was in college, 20 years ago, there was no such thing as a fashion scientist. But fashion is an amazing platform to be able to show off science.  — Amanda Parkes

Parker’s work reminds us that fashion’s future isn’t just about what looks good, but what’s possible when science, sustainability, and style converge.

Dr. Carmen Hijosa

Dr. Carmen Hijosa may not come from a traditional engineering background, but her work stands as a powerful example of how design thinking, science, and sustainability can come together to reimagine the material foundations of fashion.

As Founder and Chief Creative & Innovation Officer at Ananas Anam Ltd, she developed Piñatex® (a non-woven textile made from pineapple leaf fiber).

Her inspiration came from the Philippines, where she encountered the cultural and ecological richness of plant-based traditions, including the use of natural fibers in garments like the Barong Tagalog.

Driven by the potential to create a commercially viable material with low environmental impact and high social value, Hijosa began bridging craft knowledge with fiber innovation.

Piñatex® is now recognized not just as a material alternative, but as a blueprint for what regenerative systems in fashion could look like - where waste becomes resource and innovation is rooted in ecology and function.

Design is not just about product. Design is about responsibility. 

— Dr Carmen Hijosa.

Image sourced from Royal College of Art

Designer Suzanne Lee

What could be more engineering-driven than crafting garments from living microbes? While not an engineer by title, Suzanne Lee is a pioneering force in the textile innovation and science movement—and she’s done exactly that.

As founder of Biofabricate, previous Chief Creative Officer at Modern Meadow and now member of the board of directors at BIOME Consortia, she pioneered the development of bio-fabricated materials, including garments grown entirely from bacterial cellulose.

In an interview with Sleek magazine, Suzanne recalls first exploring the potential of microbial grown materials during a encounter with biologist (and future collaborator) Dr. David Hepworth at an art gallery.

He raised the possibility to her, insinuating they could “look to living organisms to produce fibers for us”, to which Suzanne responded: “Are you telling me I could grow a dress in a vat of liquid?”. And just like that, her journey began.

Lee’s vision challenges the fashion industry to fundamentally rethink how materials are created.

Biocouture™ Jackets Suzanne Lee ©Biofabricate 2023 | Image from: The Material Revolution with Suzanne Lee

She encapsulated a radical proposition: that living organisms can become collaborators in textile creation.

In doing so, she helped spark the biofabrication movement and inspired a generation of scientists, engineers, and designers to explore the space between biology and fashion.

What excites me about using microbes is their efficiency. So we only grow what we need. There's no waste.

Since her TED Talk a few years ago, she’s clarified that microbial cellulose isn’t intended to replace traditional fibers like cotton. Instead, she views it as “quite a smart and sustainable addition to our increasingly precious natural resources.”

Often called the mother of living materials in fashion, Suzanne Lee brings deep scientific insight and bio-engineering fluency to her work. Her ability to bridge synthetic biology and textile innovation exemplifies the kind of cross-disciplinary thinking fashion needs to see more of!

Dr. Theanne Schiros

Dr. Theanne Schiros represents a powerful fusion of academic rigor and design application. She is a research scientist at Columbia University and serves as a Consortium and Internal Advisory Board Member for the New York Fashion Innovation Center (NYFIC).

She is also the co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Werewool, a women-led biotech company reimagining textile fibers by harnessing nature’s biodiversity.

Werewool creates materials with built-in performance properties (such as vivid color, stretch, and water resistance) through protein engineering and DNA programming, eliminating the need for dyes or chemical finishes.

Schiros has co-developed material innovations like a leather alternative derived from kombucha SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). In collaboration with Public School NY, a sneaker made entirely from waste using the SCOBY process was created.

According to MOLD Media, rethinking this material led to the creation of a new "bio-leather" that challenges conventional leather sourcing and production methods.

A microbial leather sneaker | Image from: https://thisismold.com/

Her work spans bacteria-grown textiles, regenerative dyeing processes, and circular systems, and she is a vocal advocate for equity and accessibility in material science.

Beyond her lab work, Schiros has been involved in global sustainability efforts since 2005, from working on solar energy in Haiti with Engineers Without Borders to designing zero-waste communities in Costa Rica, and empowering women through natural dye training in West Africa.

In many ways, she exemplifies the new generation of women scientists in fashion: bridging academic research with applied design while pushing the industry toward a regenerative future.

Natsai Audrey Chieza

Natsai Audrey Chieza is at the forefront of bio-design. Her practice sits at the convergence of synthetic biology and material innovation, particularly through her groundbreaking work developing microbial dyes as an alternative to toxic chemical coloring methods.

Today, Chieza is the founder and CEO of Faber Futures, a company operating at the intersection of design and consumer-driven biotechnology. She is also the founder of Normal Phenomena of Life, the world’s first lifestyle brand born from biodesign.

The brand creates and sells products crafted with cutting-edge biotechnologies, while also spotlighting existing innovations that are already making a positive impact globally.

Image from: OKAY AFRICA

Although not an engineer by title, Chieza describes how her design practice has been deeply intertwined with engineering. In an interview for What Design Can Do, she recalls:

“I spent months moonlighting in a biotech lab in Boston, trying to understand—from a business perspective—what are the implications of design being at the table not as marketing, but in the lab, collaborating with engineers. We were thinking how to develop the infrastructure for designing living systems with design principles embedded from the start.”

Chieza’s vision isn’t just technical; it’s cultural. Her work reframes how we think about fashion's relationship to nature, suggesting that design can be symbiotic rather than extractive.

By creating systems where living organisms become part of the production process, she’s not only advancing textile science but also challenging the philosophical underpinnings of how fashion operates.

Imagem from: LABIOTECH

Chieza’s leadership at the intersection of science, design, and bio-innovation has made her a sought-after voice on global stages such as SXSW, TED, and Design Indaba.

Her pioneering work in biophilic and biotechnology-driven design has not only captured international media attention but also earned her prestigious recognition, including the 2019 INDEX Award, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of design.

As we mark International Women in Engineering Day, Chieza stands as a powerful example of how true innovation in fashion happens when design and engineering work hand in hand—and why voices like hers in biotech and science deserve to be celebrated.

World Collective: A Team of Women Moving Fashion Forward

At World Collective, we know that real innovation in fashion doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s built through connection, across disciplines, across regions, and across every layer of the supply chain.

We’re proud to be a women-led team creating the infrastructure that today’s fashion system urgently needs: one that supports better sourcing, smarter materials, and more transparent partnerships from fiber to final product.

Our work is deeply collaborative. We partner with women engineers, fiber scientists, sustainability experts, and suppliers around the world—many of whom are reshaping what textile innovation looks like from the ground up.

And on International Women in Engineering Day, it’s worth pausing to recognize what that really means.

Because the future of sourcing will be uilt by people with the courage to rethink systems. And women in textile engineering, material science, and related innovation fields have long been doing just that: building the technical backbone of fashion.

When women are not only part of the conversation but also helping lead and engineer the systems themselves, the future of fashion gets stronger, smarter, and more sustainable.

Explore the World Collective Marketplace to connect with verified suppliers, responsible materials, and sourcing tools built for the next generation of fashion.



Written by Maria Eugênia Lima, Content & Marketing Intern at World Collective