Pauline van Dongen
Pauline van Dongen is a designer who brings technology and textiles together to shape a more connected and sustainable future. With a deep belief in the power of materials, she creates garments and textiles that interact with the human body, the sun, and the spaces we move through—encouraging awareness, wellbeing, and new ways of living.
Since founding her studio in 2010, Pauline has led pioneering projects that merge design with textile innovation. Her work spans from solar garments like the Solar Shirt and SUNTEX—a solar textile for architectural applications like tents, canopies and facades—to wearables that support emotional and physical wellbeing.
As co-founder of the start-up MYSA, Pauline developed a smart shirt that offers subtle haptic feedback to help young people regulate anxiety and breathing. It’s a deeply human example of how wearables can offer care—not just data. Earlier, with Issho, she explored similar themes of mindfulness and embodiment through the language of touch.Pauline also investigates shape-changing textiles, inspired by natural materials and behaviors. These projects raise new questions about how we design with nature, not just for it—and how responsive materials might lead to more intuitive, more-than-human environments.
As co-founder of The Solar Biennale and The Solar Movement, she advocates for a more human and holistic approach to solar design. Her ongoing work with SUNTEX continues to push the boundaries of how solar energy can be integrated into the built environment—soft, tactile, and culturally embedded.
Pauline holds a PhD in fashion design and smart textiles from TU Eindhoven, making her the first fashion designer in the Netherlands to receive this degree. Her talks inspire audiences to see design not just as a solution, but as a way to shape culture, connection, and consciousness.
Pauline’s lecture was inspiring, informative and delivered very professionally. It set the tone for a fruitful conversation afterwards.”
-— Tiago Prata – SUNPLUGGED conference, February 2025
Talks & Recognition
Pauline has presented her work at global events including SXSW, CES, TEDx, IDTechEx, ArcInTex, Northside Festival, Munich Fabric Start, Wearable Futures, Utopian Bodies, The Future of Fashion is Now, and Dutch Design Week.
She was named one of the 50 most inspiring women in tech in the Netherlands (2016), selected by MIT for their ‘Innovators Under 35 Europe’ list (2017), and awarded FORBES The World’s Top 50 Women in Tech (2018). In 2022, she was recognized as one of the Top Fifty Women in Deep Tech in the Benelux Region, and earlier as one of the country’s leading Future Fashion Pioneers.
Pauline van Dongen: ☀️ “making solar energy a more natural part of our lives.”: