Through her own experiences and education, Sasha saw the need for improved clothing practices in healing settings. That was the inspiration behind her capstone project Dressing Changes, the basis for an organization that advocates for, and acts on, the opportunity to improve inpatient experience through dress. Patient experience is often overlooked in medical settings, and patient clothing has been designed to benefit staff, rather than the wearer. The standardized hospital gown leaves patients feeling exposed, uncomfortable, and powerless. Dressing Changes is working to ensure that every inpatient has access to clothing that supports and eases their healing journey, which includes advocacy for improved internal clothing policies and practices in medical facilities, in addition to an inpatient service that supplies patients with clothing that meets their individual needs. The project process included primary research with patients and healthcare workers, alongside secondary research on the hospital gown, self esteem and enclothed cognition, and trauma response. After research synthesis, Dressing Changes came to life with branding, service design, and web design, going live at www.dressingchanges.org.

As Sasha graduates from the Ryerson School of Fashion, she plans to leverage her BDes to benefit creative innovation in healthcare, with particular interest in project management roles. Additionally, she is passionate about continuing the Dressing Changes project, and is currently pursuing membership in a social innovation incubator to help accelerate the concept’s next steps.

In the last year Sasha has had incredible support in the creation of her capstone project, and would like to thank her research participants, professors, family, friends, and network, for all of their help along the way.