(Andover, Mass.) - September 30, 2016 - Polartec, the premium provider of innovative textile solutions, is proud to announce the culmination of the Open Style Lab summer program, a research program that teams designers, engineers, and occupational therapists to create functional yet stylish wearable solutions with and for people with disabilities. Polartec works with Open Style Lab to solve problems with fabric technology.

Now in its third year, Open Style Lab takes an interdisciplinary approach to developing adaptive wear for people with disabilities, a market traditionally underserved by the apparel industry. The lab divides students into groups and matches them with local clients to develop clothing that meets their specific needs.

The program celebrates universal design to create a more beautiful and inclusive world, and the 2016 summer program produced wearable solutions for four clients. A final presentation will be given 11am Saturday, October 1, 2016 at the Museum of Science in Boston.

“From high-tech fabrics to wearable tech, a range of wearable solutions are produced at Open Style Lab,” says Grace Jun, Open Style Lab Executive Director. “We emphasize purposeful aesthetics and considerate uses of technology when designing clothing solutions. Polartec’s knowledge and resources of advanced fibers provide a fundamental step for the fellows when selecting materials to begin creating wearable solutions.”

“Polartec and Open Style Lab share a mission to innovate through textile solutions,” says Darren Josey, Polartec North American Marketing Manager. “We innovate by creating fabric technologies that solve problems. Open Style Lab takes this innovation further by creating wearable solutions for people who have specific needs not currently met by the market. Because of the creative ways they use our fabrics and the purpose behind it, they’ve become one of our most important partners.”

For more information, please visit OpenStyleLab.com.

About Polartec

Polartec is the premium provider of innovative and sustainable textile solutions. Since inventing modern technical fleece in 1981, the engineers at Polartec continue to advance the science of fabric, creating fabric technologies that solve problems and improve the way products are designed and used. Polartec products range from lightweight wicking and cooling fabrics, to insulation and weather protection textiles, and are utilized by leading consumer brands, the U.S. Military and other global militaries, flame resistance, workwear, and contract upholstery markets. For more information, please visit Polartec.com and follow Polartec on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.