Startups
Arts / Competitions / Design

These Drexel fashion students won $2K for making dresses out of adult diapers

Finding beauty in adult incontinence products.

These dresses are all made from the same materials used to make adult diapers. (Photo by Susan Michini)
Nothing says “innovation” like converting adult incontinence products into high-fashion dresses. Seriously.

In partnership with hygiene products company SCA, 13 students from Drexel’s Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design were given 24 hours over a three week period to take TENA (an adult diaper brand) materials and turn them into something you might see your favorite celeb sporting on the red carpet.
The students, divided into four teams, presented their finalized products at Drexel’s URBN Center on Wednesday to three judges: Amy Bellcourt (SCA’s VP of Communications), Diane Engler (SCA’s Director of Communications for North America) and Eric Cohen (Senior Product Manager for TENA).
Initially, one winner was to be selected to win $500 and the opportunity to have their designs displayed in Newport, R.I., at the North American stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race this May.
But that all changed after the judges laid their eyes on the insanely intricate designs displayed by all four teams.
Instead, two teams were selected as winners, banking $1,000 each and the Volvo Ocean Race appearance. The other two teams were given prizes of $250 each.
“I was overly impressed,” said TENA’s Cohen. “I wasn’t sure what I would see.”
Here’s what you need to know.

Team 1 (Runner-up, $250)

pinkscarf
This team used material used for sensitive adult diaper products and plastic wrap for pads. “Just because you have incontinence doesn’t mean you’re not romantic and still a woman,” the team said.

·

Team 2 (Runner-up, $250)

purpleskirt
This team used diaper velcro in the back of the dress instead of the usual zipper. And just look at that undergarment neckstrap.

·

Team 3 (Winner, $1,000)

purplescarf
This team designed their dress (with a diaper underneath) with strong women like Beyoncé, Gwen Stefani and Princess Di in mind.

·

Team 4 (Winner, $1,000)

knottydress
This particularly knotty dress was inspired by sailing and “unity in the face of incontinence.”

Companies: Drexel University
Engagement

Join the conversation!

Find news, events, jobs and people who share your interests on Technical.ly's open community Slack

Trending

Philly daily roundup: East Market coworking; Temple's $2.5M engineering donation; WITS spring summit

Philly daily roundup: Jason Bannon leaves Ben Franklin; $26M for narcolepsy treatment; Philly Tech Calendar turns one

Philly daily roundup: Closed hospital into tech hub; Pew State of the City; PHL Open for Business

From lab to market: Two Philly biotech founders on AI’s potential to revolutionize medicine

Technically Media