Maia Hirsch’s love for fashion design doesn’t come from a lifelong passion for luxury brands like Chanel, Hermès, and Dior. At 24, Hirsch, a mechanical engineer from upstate Ithaca, is more intrigued by scientific systems and robotics than high-end fabrics.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, leaving her stranded in Florida during her undergraduate studies, she took a fashion design course at the Istituto Marangoni Miami for fun and as a therapeutic outlet amid the chaos.
Now, those fashion sessions have led Hirsch to New York Fashion Week 2026, where she will debut her robotic fashion creations on the runway at Times Square nightspot Dramma.
“I’m honored to challenge stereotypes about engineers and roboticists by entering the world of fashion design,” Hirsch, currently pursuing her PhD in robotics at Cornell University, told The Post.
“Fashion is a highly visible industry,” the Venezuelan native continued. “So, my work as a fashion designer allows science to enter very public and cultural spaces where it couldn’t before.
“And I think that’s fantastic.”
As an innovator in the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), the Ivy League student will showcase her “Blooming Dress,” an interactive garment that blooms into a white flower with a simple handshake, at SFWRunway’s “Future of Fashion” show on Saturday.
With cotton fabric as the base, Hirsch created the dress’s moving petals using touch sensors and actuators, allowing for automation in response to physical actions like blooming.
“There are small touch sensors in the model’s palm,” explained the high-tech couturier. “When they come into contact with anything, it activates the entire mechanism, including the motors in the dress that cause it to bloom.”
Hirsch is also unveiling her “Gazing Dress,” a stunning piece made with optical fibers and stretch sensors that illuminate based on the wearer’s movements.
“Both dresses will be worn by models at the New York Fashion Week show,” said the innovative Gen Zer, who previously showcased her designs on mannequins. “It’s going to be beautiful.”
Prior to the runway show, Hirsch spent hours sketching, refining, and perfecting her designs at Cornell Maker Club workspaces, using state-of-the-art tools and equipment to bring her creations to life.
Each of Hirsch’s fashion show pieces took over four months to create, from ideation to completion, and required grant funding to execute. To her, investing time, money, and effort into her high-tech wardrobe is worth it to break down barriers in male-dominated fields for other women in STEM.
“I’m excited to share my work because I believe in the phrase, ‘You cannot be what you cannot see,’” she said. “I want other women to know they can be engineers and still love fashion and embrace their femininity. You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other to belong.”
While the number of women in STEM careers has increased since the 1970s, with women now holding 30% of STEM jobs in North America, there is still progress to be made in technical fields like computer science and engineering. Hirsch aims to contribute to this growth, inspired by futuristic fashion designers like Iris Van Herpen.
Van Herpen is known for blending nature, architecture, and mechanics into her wearable art, creating otherworldly pieces worn by celebrities like Cate Blanchett, Beyoncé, and Lady Gaga. Hirsch hopes to generate a similar buzz at NYFW.
Unlike Van Herpen’s pieces, Hirsch’s designs are not meant for daily wear due to their delicate nature. She believes her innovative creations are priceless and cannot be assigned a monetary value.
These shoes are not weatherproof, so they should not be worn in the rain or extreme cold as the battery could be damaged.
“There are also concerns about storage,” she added. “How would the average person store them in their closet? And if something went wrong, how would they be repaired?”
Despite not having every detail finalized, the innovative designer is proud to lead the way in fashion’s evolution.
“Fashion should not only be worn – it should be an experience,” said Hirsch. “My background in mechanical engineering allows me to create unprecedented designs and incorporate fashion seamlessly.”
