I have worked with fashion in both applied and experimental settings, assisting designers at high street brands amd have tested uncharted fashion methods through freelance work at a startup.
My works have been showcased at exhibitions, in shows, as well as on various European and North American stages from Glastonbory to the Apollo Theater via the band Little Dragon.
Email, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google Scholar↗
Education
Doctor of Philosophy
Artistic practice-based research in fashion design
Department of Design
Swedish School of Textiles
University of Borås
2022 - present
MFA Fashion Design
Swedish School of Textiles
University of Borås
2013 - 2015
BFA Fashion Design
Swedish School of Textiles
University of Borås
2010 - 2013
Modedesign
Preparatory education
Art College, Folkuniversitetet, Gothenburg
2009 - 2010
Fashion Portfolio
Preparatory education
London College of Fashion
University of the Arts London
2007 - 2008
International Baccalaureate
Hvitfeldtska Gymnasiet. Gothenburg
2004 - 2007
Employment
Lecturer
Department of Design
Swedish School of Textiles
University of Borås
2018 - present
Acting Head of Department
Department of Design
Swedish School of Textiles
University of Borås
2021
Deputy Head of Department
Department of Design
Swedish School of Textiles
University of Borås
2018 - 2021
Freelance Designer
Atacac, Gothenburg
2016
Costume Designer
for Little Dragon’s European and North American tours
2016 - 2017
Founder & Owner
SAINA KOOHNAVARD
2016 - 2020
Assistant Designer
MTWTFSS Weekday, Stockholm
2013
Fashion design intern
MTWTFSS Weekday, Gothenburg
2012
Fashion design intern
Barbara Í Gongini, Copenhagen
2011
Exhibitions
(ongoing) Hybrid Material Tinkering
Animation from doctoral research
Soft + Ware: Rethinking Fashion and Textiles
Borås Textile Museum
Borås, Sweden
April - August 2026
(ongoing) Beyond Substance
Animation from doctoral research
Soft + Ware: Rethinking Fashion and Textiles
Borås Textile Museum
Borås, Sweden
April - August 2026
Made You Look
MFA Graduation Collection
Transfashional
Museo della Città
Rimini, Italy
October 2019 - January 2020
(I)Deal With It
MFA Capsule Collection
Utopian Bodies Fashion Looks Forward
Liljevalchs
Stockholm, Sweden
September 2015 - February 2016
Publications & Conference Contributions
(forthcoming) Gustafsson, E., Koohnavard, S. and Katila, N. (2026) 'Resilient Fashion Futures Uncharted: Challenging the Status Quo through Research-Based Design Education', in Sharma, N. and Gaudette, H. (eds) Global Perspectives on Education for Sustainable Fashion. Palgrave Macmillan
Koohnavard, S. (2025) Authoring Fashion Materials: Procedural Generation as Design Method for Fashion Design, in Chang, C.-Y., Chen, C.-H., & Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taipei, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.674
Gustafsson, E., Koohnavard, S., & Särmäkari, N. (2025). Fashion Futures Forward: Promises and Perils of Creative Technologies for Sustainable Fashion Design. In 27th Annual IFFTI Conference Forming Futures, London College of Fashion, UAL, 24-28 March 2025.
Koohnavard, S. and Tepe, J. (2023) 'Mutual Knowledge Creation between Fashion and Character Design', workshop in track: Fashion and Gaming Cultures (chaired by T. Apperley and E. Koskinen). Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA) International Conference: 'Limits and Margins of Games', University of Seville, Seville, Spain, 19-23 June
Jan Tepe & Saina Koohnavard (2023) Fashion and game design as hybrid practices: approaches in education to creating fashion-related experiences in digital worlds, International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 16:1, 37-45, DOI: 10.1080/17543266.2022.2103591
Panelist/ Interviews/ Speaker/ Guest Lecturer
Panel
Marievik Talks #2
Science Park Borås,
AMF Fastigheter
Moderator: Nisha Besara
Marievik, Stockholm
9 June, 2026
Interview
Tex! By Marketplace Borås
Moderator: Patrik Wermelin
YouTube
25 May 2026
Guest lecturer
Pallas University of Applied Sciences
Course: Fashion Project Collection Planning
Course leader: Kairi Lentsius
Zoom
6 - 10 April 2026
Inspiration lecture
Tex! By Marketplace Borås
Forskarfrukost
Textile Fashion Center
Borås, Sweden
19 February 2026
Panel
Innovation - This Outfit Does Not Exist
Textile Movement
Moderator: Nana Sacko
Röhsska Museum
Gothenburg, Sweden
16 October 2025
Guest lecturer
Pallas University of Applied Sciences
Course: Fashion Project Collection Planning
Course leader: Kairi Lentsius
Tartu, Estonia
5 - 8 May 2025
Guest lecturer
Amsterdam Fashion Institute
Course: Hypercraft
Course leader: Fernanda Fernandes da Silva
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
11 - 30 November, 2024
Panel
Borås Textile Days
Moderator: Jennie Rosén, Swedish Fashion Council
Borås, Sweden
Textile Fashion Center
8 November 2023
Live interview
Borås Textile Days
Moderator: Git Guldare
Borås Textile Days
Textile Fashion Center,
Borås, Sweden
8 November 2023
Inspiration lecture
Knowit Consultancy
Lecture: The Devil Wears... Skins? - The Role of Fashion in Digital Environments
Zoom
23 February 2023
Interview
Scandinavian Mind, podcast
20 May 2022
Speaker
KreNI Conference
Niš, Serbia
December 2015
Shows
Made You Look
MFA Graduation Collection
INFA P 46
46 Rue Sainte-Anne, Paris
4 March 2016
Made You Look
MFA Graduation Collection
Exit 15
Freemasons’ Hall
Vauxhall Fashion Scout, London Fashion Week
September 2015
Made You Look
MFA Graduation Collection
Exit 15
Berns
Stockholm Fashion Week
August 2015
Made You Look
MFA Graduation Collection
Exit 15
Navet, Borås
June 2015
(I)Deal With It
MFA Capsule Collection
Designers’ Nest (Alpha)
Copenhagen Fashion Week
Lokomotivværkstedet, Copenhagen
August 2014
Chickipedia
BFA Graduation Collection
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Pavilion
Shanghai Fashion Week
Xintiandi , Shanghai
October 2013
Chickipedia
BFA Graduation Collection
Freemasons’ Hall
Vauxhall Fashion Scout
London Fashion Week
London, UK
September 2013
Chickipedia
BFA Graduation Collection
Exit 13
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Pavilion
Merdeces-Benz Fashion Week
Kungsträdgården, Stockholm
August 2013
Chickipedia
BFA Graduation Collection
Exit 13
Textilmuseet, Borås
June 2013
Situation Analysis
BFA Capsule Collection
Exit 12
Textilmuseet, Borås
June 2012
Lalai kon morghake man
BFA Capsule Knit Collection
Rum 26, Gothenburg
June 2011