We spoke to Grace Teo, CEO of Open Style Lab last year, and recently were delighted to receive this press release detailing their latest project .

Open Style Lab, a non-profit housed at MIT, announces its first retail product -- an ergonomic, waterproof jacket that is inspired by wheelchair users, and designed for people of all abilities. Everyone from wheelchair users, cyclists, sports spectators, commuters and campers can now sit in the rain comfortably - no umbrella, no poncho, no extra material, but complete coverage.

In Summer 2014, Ryan came to Open Style Lab with a challenge: As a wheelchair user, he could not find a rain jacket that would protect his lap from the rain. Our designers, occupational therapists and engineers worked with Ryan to come up with the somewhat eponymous solution - the RAYN jacket.

A competitive biker before his injury, Ryan described himself as a ‘hoodie’ type of guy. In accordance with his style, we created a jacket that looks like a hoodie, with one difference: the hoodie pouch doubles as a lap cover that is easily deployed in the rain through a simple 2-step folding mechanism. Other features of the jacket include breathable fabric and a back vent that allow better temperature regulation; additionally, zipper loops and magnets provide easy manipulation.

Open Style Lab is collaborating with Betabrand, an online clothing community based in San Francisco, to offer Rayn Jacket to the public. Rayn Jacket is currently featured on Betabrand’s crowdsourced design platform, Think Tank, where you can show your support by voting for the Rayn Jacket. After graduating the voting phase, the Rayn Jacket will launch in Betabrand's crowdfunding platform, where users can fund the design to transform it from a prototype to fully produced product. The campaign is now live.

Dr. Grace Teo, Co-Founder and CEO of Open Style Lab shares, “Rayn Jacket embodies the essence of Open Style Lab’s mission: the creation of accessible fashion that fits a whole range of bodies and abilities. Thus, it is very fitting as our commercial debut, and our contribution to a more inclusive, beautiful world.”

Open Style Lab

Open Style Lab strives to make beauty accessible to people of all abilities. Our flagship summer program is hosted at MIT, in which multidisciplinary, user-centered design projects team design, engineering and rehabilitation medicine students with clients with disabilities to explore an array of clothing challenges. Our work has been featured in the Boston Globe, Museum of Science Boston, Boston Magazine and the Christian Science Monitor, among other publications; and was selected as a BostInno 50 on Fire Design winner in 2014. For more information, visit openstylelab.org.

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