Assistant Professor
Design

Bolanle Dahunsi

Overview
Overview
Background
Publications

Overview

Biography

Bolanle Dahunsi is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business at . She teaches courses in Digital Design for Apparel and Apparel Design with Draping. She hopes to help her students learn to make design decisions based on aesthetics, functionality, accessibility, and sustainability.

She received a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from the University of Ado-Ekiti. She has a Masters degree in Computer Science from Louisiana State University and a PhD in Design from University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on accessible & sustainable apparel through personalized recommender systems, apparel ontologies, and generative AI for design & ideation.

Credentials

Ph.D, Design, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, MN

Career Interests

I am a Design Scholar and Computer Scientist with finance and entrepreneurship experience. I collaborate with stakeholders across disciplines to increase accessibility and sustainability of the apparel industry through technological advances.

My research focus is mainly in accessible & sustainable clothing consumption. To that end, I conduct research in accessibility & sustainability of apparel through personalized recommender systems. I also study apparel ontologies as an option for representation of concepts and relationships in the apparel field. Finally, I explore generative AI as a tool for design and ideation.

Background

Professional Affiliations

  • International Textile & Apparel Association (ITAA)
  • Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
  • International Association for Ontology & its Applications (IAOA)
  • Society of Women Engineers (SWE)
  • National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)

Publications

Exhibition
DSGN - Apparel Design

“Motherhood meets Workwear”

This creative design project addresses the need for work-appropriate postpartum clothing that enables discreet public breastfeeding without requiring garment removal. Rooted in the Functional, Expressive, and Aesthetic (FEA) consumer needs model, the design integrates cultural identity, nursing access, and professional aesthetics. The final artifact is a peplum top and pencil skirt made from green and black Nigerian Ankara fabric. It features invisible zippers embedded in neckline princess seams, allowing private nursing access while maintaining privacy. The sloper was drafted from scratch, then refined and simulated in VStitcher for precise seam placement and fit analysis. The zipper structure also provides subtle abdominal support, enhancing comfort and confidence. This work offers a novel contribution by uniting Nigerian traditional textile and digital garment simulation to meet the real needs of postpartum professionals. The design affirms the multifaceted identity of mothers as caregivers, workers, individuals through fashion that is both expressive and functional.
Details
Exhibition
DSGN - Apparel Design

“Alice: Reimagining Suffragette Dress in the Modern Fight for Women’s Equality”

This design reimagines suffragette dress through a contemporary feminist lens, using upcycled bedsheets to symbolize unpaid labor while prioritizing size adjustability, sustainability, and historical continuity. Inspired by Alice Paul, the look merges aesthetic strategies of early 20th-century activism with modern design practices to advocate for gender equity today.
Details