Flora is a fashion engineer, artist, inventor and research practitioner with international acclaim.
Colliding technology with craft, Flora has been leading the Footwear Accessories Millinery and Eyewear specialism for 12 years, having introduced eyewear to the Fashion MA programme in 2014.
Her teaching and research practice extends from her expertise working with atypical materials and leather for novel 3D construction techniques, alongside her foray into inclusive design.
She employs material explorations to investigate design and scientific innovation in eyewear, pneumatic structures, the sound of matter, and wearable technologies in textiles, building communities of practice to facilitate others in these processes.
Key details
School, Centre or Area
Research highlights
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More information
Research interests
Flora’s research is concerned with exploring and developing new creation (or design) methods, through four main challenge areas: (1) high spec craft making for durability and circularity; (2) inclusivity in art and design; (3) collaborative and community design; and, (4) physically intangible sensorial materials like air and sound.
She considers these topics by asking:
How can I use the embodied knowledge gained through my non-linear thinking methodology to advance design and design education? And; How might non-linear design practice be advantageous for the creation of empathic, imaginative and inclusive art and design?
Specific areas of interest include pneumatic structures in fashion, designing with air, neurological studies on creative brain activity, wearable technologies in textile design, and eyewear design innovation.
Research funding
RCA Knowledge Exchange participation grant (2025)
RCA School of Architecture staff funding grant (2025).
RCA School of Design Research symposium grant (2022)
RCA Knowledge Exchange symposium grant (2021)
UKTI Fashion trade fair funding (2010 – 2013)
Current and recent projects
Pl-EXO Skeleton – Plastic Human Support System
2025 – present
Flora produced a poster and presented it at the ‘Understanding Plastics: From Heritage to Controversy and Beyond’ conference at the Museu de Calçado in Sāo Joāo da Madeira in Portugal from 5 to 7 November 2025. The poster continued from her book chapter, ‘Can Plastics Be a Muse for Future Feminist Innovation?’ in Provocative Plastics (Lambert 2020). In aid of repositioning the value and optics of plastics, she drew from her own practice working with plastics combined with air as a material over the last two decades, and contextualised this lived experience with a series of interviews with cross-disciplinary experts in the bioengineering (Prof. Spiros Masouros), mechanical engineering (George Morgan), architecture (Nick Crosbie), art (Leo Carlton), inclusive design (Yasmin Keats), and inflatables (Florence Druart and Jack Irving). This was complimented by visual research and observation of MA students at the Royal College of Art.
Sound@RCA on Tape
2025 – present
The project draws on the rich history of cassette-based releases in the context of art, design and the art school to generate a series of three, double-sided cassettes. The working group is organising the releases thematically, operating ‘signals’. Rather than comprehensive documentation of sound research at the RCA, they signal shared interests and possible trajectories for future collaborations. Signals might relate to subjects, content or modes of working, with the releases aimed at establishing an internal community of sound researchers. Collaborators on this project are Dr Elaine Tierney (V&A, RCA) and Dr Emily Candela (RCA).
Tower of Winds
2024 - present
Flora McLean is Co-investigator focussing on material activism for this ongoing project. She devised a novel knitting technique and adapted it to large scale to help extend the Ecological Semiotics of Heat and Pollution in Athens project. The Tower of Winds project was displayed via boards, video and a live talk by collaborator and Project Lead Dr. Jon Goodbun at the 19th La Biennale di Venezia di Archtectura international exhibition. It was entitled Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective. and took place on 7 May 2025 with preview day for exhibitors and invited VIP guests, followed by two days of pre-public view. The architecture exposition was open to the public from 10 May through 2 November 2025 and attracted upwards of 600,000 visitors.
Pneumatic Advantages
2023 - present
Investigating material responses with airflow and approaching spatial and temporal concerns in design expressions from unconventional perspectives, as a means of revisiting past and present possibilities of form-giving and form-experiencing.
Air-body works
2023 – present
Experimenting with structure and scale potentials of air-formed, air-based and atmospheric objects, as well as audio-visual works, and the opportunities and challenges inherent in the process of their creation to design inclusively with empathy.
Practice
Flora’s practice specialises in avant-garde headwear for fashion catwalks, campaigns and collectors. Materials inspire her pieces - PVC, Perspex, felt, leather, wood veneer and Nylon – which are influenced by geometry and architecture. McLean’s ideas also reference historical figures and concepts in modern art.
Recent highlights include having her work exhibited in the V&A Museum (2009), and co-creating the BADORA hat with Erykah Badu (2020). Flora also leads the 100% Optical Eyewear Design Competition (2014 to present).
Earlier projects include designing visors for the Jamaican Team/Puma for the 2012 Olympics and taking part in Hatwalk, a hat tour of statues in central London. McLean made a hat for Wellington in Hyde Park corner. Her company House of Flora has now expanded to include a commercial range of statement fashion jewellery and eyewear pieces. Flora uses fashion film to accompany the collection and shows these at fashion weeks in London and Paris.
Publications, exhibitions, other outcomes
Publications & Conferences
McLean, F. (2025) 'PL-EXO Skeleton: Plastic Human Support System’. Poster presented at Understanding Plastics: From Heritage to Controversy and Beyond, Museu do Calçado, São João da Madeira, Portugal, 5–7 November.
McLean, F. et al. (2025) Future of Fashion SHOW – An Inclusive Fashion Initiative by Bullock Inclusion. Event held at Kindred, Hammersmith, London, 22 February.
(2023) Ecological Semiotics of Heat and Pollution in Athens knit irrigation research project (Co-I). Royal College of Art.
(2023) Leather Circularity symposium (PI). Royal College of Art.
McLean, F. (2021) ‘House of Flora’. In: Salter, L. (ed.) The HUE Issue – Optimism. Leeds: Pressision, pp. 72-73.
(2021) The Materialists symposium (PI). Royal College of Art.
McLean, F. (2020). ‘Can Plastics Be a Muse for Future Feminist Innovation?’, in Lambert, S. (ed.) Provocative Plastics: Their Value in Design and Material Culture. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.69-89.
(2020) REF #95: Unscripted. Royal College of Art.
McLean, F. (2018). ‘Sao Paulo Design Week Conference’, in Sao Paulo Design Week Conference Proceedings. Sao Paulo: Belas Artes.
Tan, J., Toomey, A., and McLean, F. (2018). Technically Craft:
Interdisciplinary Design Practice for Interactive Textiles. Proceedings: Textile Institute World Conference, Leeds, UK. 23-26 July 2018.
(2017) Music Stimulates Creative Performance research workshop. Royal College of Art.
McLean, F. (2015) 'Inflatable Clothes', in McLean, W. and Silver, P. Air Structures. London: Laurence King Publishing, pp. 144–145.
(2015) Fabric of the City symposium. London Metropolitan University.
(2015) Provocative Plastics conference. Bournemouth University
(2015) Plastic Week talks and workshops (PI). Royal College of Art.
Bou, L. and McLean, F. (2012). ‘House of Flora’, in Couture Hats: From the Outrageous to the Refined. Harper, pp. 72–85.
Exhibitions and Presentations
(2019) Mut Zum Hut Hat exhibition. Basel.
(2018) Unveiled hat exhibition. Craft Week London.
(2018) Bowls Bangles Frocks Prints Plates exhibition and performance with Bruce McLean. CCA Gallery. Jersey.
(2017) Unscripted exhibition with Bruce McLean. One Paved Court Gallery. Richmond.
(2017) Not a Peep hats and accessories featured in film by Piers Alsop. Sodazine.
(2014) Fashioned exhibition. Craft Central. London.
External collaborations and activities
- (2020) Future of Eyewear podcast with Neil Handley. Museum of Optometry.
- (2019) Field Notes interview with Field Grey.
- (2019) Mut Zum Hut Hat poster. Basel.
- (2018) Fashion Engineering talk and workshop. Materials Experience Lab Delft.
- (2018) Maker talk and workshop. IED Rio Brazil.
- (2017) Hat Technology talk and workshop. Taiwan Tainan University of Technology.
- (2016) The New Beautiful interview with Sam Weeks. Sodazine.
- (2016) Jazzmoda Experience Brazil workshop. Rio de Janeiro.
- (2016) Moda interview with Martha Medeiros. Vogue Brazil.
- (2015) Synthetic Aesthetic talk: Plastics in the 1960s Christmas event. Plastic Historical Society. The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
- (2015) A New Form of Art interview with Dominica Margescu. Elle Romania.
- (2008) Staff talk in Cross Currents lecture series. Royal College of Art.
- (2008) Uniform talk and workshop. Architectural Association.
- (2002) Maker talk. La Mangha Gallery. Krakow.
- (2002) Travelling Hat Show talk with the British Council. State Museum of Art and Almaty Art School. Kazakhstan.
- (2000) Satellites of Fashion: Hats, Bags, Shoes talk. Crafts Council. London.
- Advisory board member for the British Footwear Association
- External examiner on De Montford University fashion programmes
