PH5 x Girls Who Code Proving You Can Be Into Computers & Work in the Fashion Industry

An interesting collaboration between PH5 and Girls Who Code champions the need to stop putting girls into boxes and instead see them for who they are.

Did you know that most of the clothing that PH5 produces is made with a computer? We didn’t. Working with Girls Who Code, a startup that aims to close the gender gap in technology through education, the creative director of PH5, Mijia Zhang and PH5 founder Wei Lin are working with programmers to code various stitches based on their vision, and a machine creates the pieces from there.

PH5’s fall 2018 presentation. Image Credit:Stefania Curto for The New York Times

According to the NY Times, Zhang, is a Parsons graduate who won the Kering Empowering Imagination award in 2014 and worked at Christopher Kane and Nike. Her one-time roommate Lin’s mother runs the factory in Dongguan, China, where all of PH5’s clothing is produced. This season, PH5 showcased their latest work at Samsung’s tech-filled event space in Manhattan. Appealing to the fashion tribes love for disco-mod, the PH5 models wore knit dresses, jumpsuits, miniskirts, leggings and heels.

“You can be into computers and work in the fashion industry.”

On their vision, Zhang shared, “As a brand, we have some influence, and we really want to bring a good influence on people.” Continuing, “You can be into computers and work in the fashion industry.” Reshma Saujani, the founder and chief executive of the Girls Who Code program, added “One of the things we tell our girls is we have to change the image of what a coder looks like and the industries where coders are most prominent. You can be super smart and have your hair done to the nines. We have to stop putting girls into boxes and see them for who they are.”

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Founding Editor in Chief at FashNerd.com | editor@fashnerd.com | Website

Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.