CLOAK brings together scientists with emerging fashion designers to reinvent the lab coat as a symbol of queer pride.

In 2022, we asked a dozen LGBTQI+ scientists to share their stories with UTS fashion designers. The designers then transformed discarded lab coats into new garments that reflected the scientists' queer histories and science careers.

This creative engagement between scientists and designers was photographed as it unfolded against the backdrop of the UTS Fashion Studios and the School of Chemistry, University of Sydney. Filming occurred in a strictly controlled environment in a laboratory setting that had been cleaned and decommissioned between teaching semesters.

We proudly displayed the resulting garments, portraits and video on the UTS Broadway Screen as part of Sydney WorldPride Pride Amplified 2023. CLOAK: Queer Science, Fashion & Photography began as a partnership between the Sydney Social Sciences and Humanities Advanced Research Centre (SSSHARC) and the School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, and Fashion & Textiles, UTS School of Design, and UTS Gallery.

If you are interested in repeating or adapting the CLOAK protocol to serve diversity and inclusion in science or to further interdisciplinary engagement of any kind, please reach out to the CLOAK Collective: sssharc.research@sydney.edu.au