Member News: Aberdeen Science Centre dresses to impress with new fashion events

July 10, 2026
Member News: Aberdeen Science Centre dresses to impress with new fashion events

Aberdeen Science Centre is collaborating with local artists to deliver a series of workshops that explore fashion and textile design, art and jewellery this summer.

The Fashion the Future events, which run at Aberdeen Science Centre across select dates throughout July and the start of August, are being delivered in partnership with Robert Gordon University’s Gray’s School of Art and funded with support from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

Led by local artists working in fashion and textiles, participants in the workshops can explore their creativity, from creating collages and weaving to block printing and seeing patterns transform into digital garments with the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Alongside the workshops, the centre’s exhibition space will be used to showcase the work of North-east designers and explore the identity of Scottish fashion, including how it incorporates sustainability and research and innovation, informed by researchers at Gray’s School of Art.

Visitors to Aberdeen Science Centre throughout July and August can also visit the Design Lab, where they can use recycled materials to create patterns for garments including and t-shirts space suits.

Calli Buchanan, visitor experience manager at Aberdeen Science Centre, said:

“We are planning to unleash couture creativity at Aberdeen Science Centre this summer as we explore fashion and textile design in our Fashion the Future events.

“Collaborating with Robert Gordon University’s Gray’s School of Art, and with funding from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland, we want to give people of all ages the chance to get hands-on with fashion and see how creativity, sustainability and technology can all come together to create something beautiful.”

With different events running from Sunday, July 12 until Saturday, August 1, the centre will explore a wide range of fashion topics. Two events led by Sophie Mancellon of Mancellon Studio will be held on Sunday, July 12, including ‘Flower Pounding’, which is focused on exploring the hidden colours inside plants through the playful, sensory technique of flower pounding. This is followed by ‘Blocking Printing with Natural Dye Pastes’, in which participants will explore how plant-based dyes can be thickened, mixed and applied with simple wooden blocks to create bold motifs and repeating patterns.

Running on Thursday, July 16 and Friday, July 24, the ‘Giving Food Scraps a New Life’ event, hosted by artist Charlotte Banks, will explore how to dye fabric using food scraps and waste materials to give old clothes a new life.

Following this, on Wednesday, July 22 and Thursday, July 23, jewellery designer Aubin Stewart will run an event called ‘Survival Accessories for the Future’ that will demonstrate how to create unique accessories using unexpected materials.

Sophie Mancellon will then host a third event, ‘Weaving Nature and Sustainability’, on Sunday, July 26, that will dive into the art of weaving through two different lenses, one grounded in nature, the other in sustainability.

On Wednesday, July 29 and Thursday, July 30, Laura O’Kane of Blómandi Studio will host the ‘Wild Pattern Lab’ events. These will be colourful, hands-on adventures into the wild world of patterns that will see participants create their own fantastical creature-inspired repeating pattern designs and discover how fashion designers borrow brilliant ideas from nature.

This series will conclude with two ‘Material to Metaverse’ workshops led by Colin Bell and Joanna O’Brien that will explore fashion and textile design through collage, mixed media experimentation and digital visualisation. Participants will create a mood board to define a theme, then develop paper and textile collages to explore colour, texture and concept generation.

The event dates may be subject to change in July and August and visitors are encouraged to check Aberdeen Science Centre’s website for any updates prior to booking.

Calli added: “The Fashion the Future events are designed to give an insightful look at the process involved in creating fun and versatile pieces of fashion, suitable for all experience levels. We hope visitors leave with new skills as well as a new fashion statement that they’ve made themselves.”

To find out more about the Fashion the Future events at Aberdeen Science Centre, visit https://aberdeensciencecentre.org/events/fashion-the-future-workshops/

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