STEM meets style: Imperial spinout showcased in leading fashion publication

Imperial College London spinout DyeRecycle featured in Vogue.

The extensive Vogue Italia feature highlights DyeRecycle’s collaboration with fashion designer Patrick McDowell, who showcased pieces created using DyeRecycle’s technology in his Spring/Summer collection, exhibited at London Fashion Week 2026.

The partnership demonstrates the potential for academic innovation to directly influence sustainable fashion, combining science and design to tackle global challenges in waste and resource use.

Founded from research within Imperial College London's Department of Chemical Engineering laboratories, DyeRecycle is transforming the way the fashion industry reuses and recycles dyes from textiles.

The company’s innovative process extracts and reintroduces dyes from discarded fabrics, both of which can be reused, reducing the environmental impact of clothing production and supporting a more circular economy.

Cutting-edge chemical engineering can move beyond the lab to inspire industries like fashion to adopt more sustainable practices. Aida Abouelela CEO, DyeRecycle

CEO Aida Abouelela said: "Seeing our technology highlighted in Vogue and on the runway is hugely exciting! It shows how cutting-edge chemical engineering can move beyond the lab to inspire industries like fashion to adopt more sustainable practices."

DyeRecycle’s journey began with the Department of Chemical Engineering, where the founding team received hands-on support to develop their innovative dye recovery technology.

The Department provided access to world-class laboratory facilities, enterprise mentorship, some business development funding and commercialisation guidance through its ChemEng Enterprise programme.

This early backing helped the founders refine their process and business model, validate their research, and connect with Imperial’s wider entrepreneurial ecosystem – enabling the idea to grow from a laboratory concept into a sustainable spinout now gaining recognition on the global stage.

Building on this foundation, the DyeRecycle team went on to progress through Undaunted’s Greenhouse accelerator in 2023, gaining further guidance to scale their innovation and refine their business model.

This combined support from Imperial has helped DyeRecycle transform from a promising research concept into a fast-growing sustainable spinout now making waves across the fashion industry.  

Working with the high end fashion industry, DyeRecycle gives a splendid lesson that you can do good, as well as look good. Professor Sandro Macchietto Director, ChemEng Enterprise

On this achievement, Professor Sandro Macchietto, Director of ChemEng Enterprise, stated: "About 70% of world textiles and 90% of dyes come from fossil fuels, with little recycling and huge environmental impact on energy, water and CO2 emissions. Working with the high end fashion industry, DyeRecycle gives a splendid lesson that you can do good, as well as look good."

ChemEng Enterprise-a rich history, an exciting present, a bright future

DyeRecycle is one of several recent spinouts from Imperial’s Department of Chemical Engineering, reflecting the department’s growing reputation for translating research into entrepreneurial solutions. In 2024–25 alone, the department launched five spinouts, representing a third of all Imperial spin-outs that year. 

This latest recognition underlines the potential for chemical engineers not only to deliver technological breakthroughs, but also to contribute to cultural change in industries far beyond traditional engineering sectors.

Additionally, this is the latest exciting development from the highly successful decentralised Enterprise support programme launched by the Department of Chemical Engineering - unique within Imperial.

The scheme includes early scouting, a pre-seed funding scheme, extensive advice and mentoring, support of interactions with Imperial and funders, “how-to” workshops and a yearly ChemEng Enterprise Day.

Find out more about ChemEng Enterprise.

Interested in participating in ChemEng Enterprise Day 2026? Get in touch with Geetanjali Bathina.