Statement

I am a fashion designer by training and have worked at the nexus of art, technology, education and fashion for more than 15 years, with a focus on textile development and wearable technology.

I explore ways to support people living with disabilities, those recovering from illness and people who are socially isolated or marginalized.

My collaborative approach often brings together physicians, scientists, designers, artists and community members.

A major area of my  work is developing touch sensitive textile that trigger sound recordings and other kinds of outputs.

Bio

Anke Loh embraces technology as another way of communicating with the body and its environment. With a background in fashion design, she focuses on textile development and wearable technology, aligning with society and craft.

Her collections have been featured in international runway shows and exhibitions including New York Fashion Week, The Centre Pompidou in Paris, Japan’s Osaka Collection Show, and the Museum of Science and Industry of Chicago.

Her artistic projects, including INTERKNIT and Dressing Light, have attracted international media coverage and recognition, including being honored as a Laureate at the Festival International des Arts et de la Mode in Hyères, France.

Interdisciplinary Exploration

She has forged multiple collaborations with technology-focused individuals, research teams, companies and universities in Europe, Asia and the USA, with the objective of blending fashion with the latest technological advances.

She broke new ground by integrating Philips Lumalive panels into dresses and skirts featuring video imagery on soft embedded LED screens, and has partnered with the Fraunhofer Institute in Berlin to research and explore the possibilities of stretchable circuitry.

Exhibitions

Loh’s work has been shown at many international exhibitions

  • Fashion Biennale in Seoul, Korea

  • Goethe Institut Chicago and NY

  • TechTextil, Frankfurt, Germany

  • On You: Wearable Technology at MODA, Museum of Design Atlanta, Georgia

  • Design Exhibition at the International Symposium on Wearable Computers, Osaka, Japan

  • A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival, Polimoda, IFFTI, Florence, Italy

  • Wear IT Festival, Berlin

  • EXEMPLARY: 150 Years of the MAK: from Arts & Crafts to Design, Vienna, Austria

  • Sense and Sensuality: The Art & Aesthetics of Wearable Technology, ADM Gallery

  • Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

  • The Arts Club, Chicago

  • Brainwriter Installation, Barbican Museum, London

Educational & Professional Background

Anke has served as a fulltime professor in the Department of Fashion at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago since 2005, and as Chairperson of the Department for five years. She studied fashion at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, earning an MFA in 1999, after which she launched her former fashion design company, Rosso NV.