20th July 2025: Anniversary of the Moon Landing
Space Pride: Queering the Cosmos through Fashion-Tech in Milan and Beyond
“We Exist and Always Will: In This Universe and The Next”
Space Pride unveils a powerful new fashion piece merging adaptive design, wearable electronics, and queer identity. At the core of this work is a simple yet radical belief: visibility is presence, and presence is power.
We are entering a new era of humanity, an era beyond the binary of gender, sexuality and identity. Created by Protea Vale (she/they) and Khushi Shah (she/they), the garment transforms the wearer into a living signal of cosmic and queer resilience. Swarm emergence through cellular automata, otherwise known as the game of life, is used to illuminate a changing rainbow of colours in real time on the outfit. A galactic spiral of 16 origami stars ripple throughout the outfit, which is composed of 88 pattern pieces. The stars each have their own 3D print design on fabric that explore themes of celestial fluidity and emergent identity. The stars pay homage to the Space Pride’s slogan, “We Are All Made of Stardust”. The piece is worn by Tilly Lockey, a bionic popstar and advocate for inclusive futures, photographed in a dramatic editorial shoot at the Science Museum.
Protea Vale, Founder of Space Pride, adds,
“Clothing is fundamental to who we are and how we express ourselves. This piece, through a wormhole of radical imagination, celebrates the hidden parts of ourselves overlooked by society.”
Khushi Shah, Vice-President of Space Pride, adds,
“The fashion piece holds traces of our transitions, whether cosmic or personal. This work isn’t about critique, it’s about transformation.”
Co-created with award winning adaptive fashion studio Seated Sewing (Kat Paylor Bent and Caitlin Glenn), says,
“This is a novel garment that proves that wearable tech and fashion can marry and turn into a fun, functional, and fashionable piece.”
The garment redefines both beauty and belonging. It also features a necklace with an HD touch screen and custom Space Pride prosthetic covers for Tilly’s bionic limbs by Open Bionics, further emphasizing the role of tech as identity-affirming, not limiting.
Bionic Pop star Tilly Lockey, adds,
“As someone who is passionate about inclusivity and tech/innovation, taking part in this campaign with modelling space, stars and all was a dream!”
The project was exhibited at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan (October 2024), the world’s largest aerospace conference. This marked the first official LGBTQ+ presence in the conference’s 75-year history, with the art-advocacy piece calling for greater LGBTQIA+ visibility within the space sector. The short film from the shoot was also screened in the iconic Millennium Square by We The Curious during Bristol Pride in July 2025.
Protea adds,
“I didn’t know it at the time, but this piece helped me come to terms with and embrace my identity as a trans woman. Together, we brought this dream and world to life, to inspire hope and joy for our trans and queer communities during these difficult times.”
Space Pride invites the space industry to reimagine itself. Not as a neutral frontier, but as a stage for belonging, softness, and pride. It’s a reflection of the values we carry with us. And the future isn’t waiting. It’s unapologetic, luminous, and unmistakably queer.
This project is made possible with funding by the Brigstow Institute at the University of Bristol and sponsorship from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Autonomous Robotic Systems (FARSCOPE-TU CDT), and creative guidance from FashionTech pioneer Anouk Wipprecht.
The photoshoot took place at the Science Museum, one of the world’s most renowned museums dedicated to celebrating human ingenuity and scientific heritage.
Help support Space Pride’s vision and work by donating here: https://whydonate.com/en/fundraising/space-pride
For media & interview enquiries, and any further information (want to model the piece in your own project?) please contact Space Pride: info@spacepride.org
Looking for a bespoke outfit? Contact Seated Sewing: info@seatedsewing.co.uk
Creative Director and Producer: Protea Vale
Artistic Director: Khushi Shah
Photography and Video: Aris Akritidis
Fashion-Tech Designers: Kat Paylor Bent, Protea Vale, Khushi Shah, Henry Hickson, Caitlin Glenn
Fashion Piece Production: Seated Sewing
Model: Tilly Lockey
Styling: Faye Héran
Hair and Makeup: Ervisa Micukaj
Venue: Science Museum
Lead Advisor: Anouk Wipprecht
Hero Arm Prosthetic: Open Bionics
Space Pride Prosthetic Sleeves (joint): Ben Allen and Myranda Lowther
Necklace: Henry Hickson, Protea Vale and George Brayshaw
Funded by the Brigstow Institute at the University of Bristol, and sponsored by the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Future Autonomous Robotic Systems (FARSCOPE-TU CDT)
Special thanks to the Space Pride team and Sarah Lockey
Background Information
Protea Vale (she/they) || SA
Founder of Space Pride, South African futurist and dreamer
Khushi Shah (she/they) || IN
Vice President of Space Pride, Designer, Space Artist. Using creativity and strategy to transform space, science and society is central to their practice. They’ve led engineering teams across Asia Pacific, founded nonprofits in Europe, and sent art to the Moon.
https://khush.space
Space Pride || FR
Space Pride is an international charity dedicated to celebrating our vibrant LGBTQIA+ community in the global space sector. “We Are All Made of Stardust”. Space Pride’s mission is to create more inclusion and acceptance of the queer community within the space industry. Space Pride consists of Protea Vale and Khushi Shah amongst others, see www.spacepride.space for full details.
Tilly Lockey (she/her) || UK
Tilly Lockey is a British social media personality and amputee known for her bionic arms developed by Open Bionics, which she has used since 2016. In 2021, she competed and went on to win the sixth series of the CBBC competition series ‘Got What It Takes?’. Tilly wears the Space Pride garment in the official photoshoot for the project, with her OpenBionics arms.
Kat Paylor Bent (she/her) || UK
Kat Paylor Bent is a specialist in adaptive clothing. Kat is a prominent disability advocate in the fashion space. She is the founder and CEO of Seated Sewing which is an adaptive fashion brand, providing bespoke outfits to the disabled community. Within the Space Pride project, Kat led the design of the garment.
Henry Hickson (he/him) || UK
Henry Hickson is a FARSCOPE-TU CDT PhD student, part of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory which is the leading and largest academic centre for multi-disciplinary robotics research in the UK. Henry’s research is in robotics and autonomous systems. Within the Space Pride project Henry worked on swarm related design, electronics and 3D printing.
Anouk Wipprecht (she/her) || NL / USA
Anouk Wipprecht is a Dutch FashionTech Designer. She creates technological couture that intersects her background in fashion design with engineering, robotics, science and interaction design. She is also an educator, and makes herself strong to get more girls into technology and hardware. Anouk was the lead technical advisor for the project.
Ben Allen (he/him) and Miranda Lowther (she/her) || UK
Ben and Miranda are FARSCOPE-TU CDT PhD students at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, the UK’s leading academic centre for multi-disciplinary robotics research. Both working within assistive technology research, Ben and Myra developed the Space Pride themed Open Bionic Sleeves. Outside of work they can be found building robots or trying new E-Textiles.
Open Bionics || UK
Open Bionics is a UK-based company that develops low-cost, 3D printed bionic arms for amputees with below elbow amputations. Their bionic arms are fully functional with lights bio feedback vibrations and different functions that allow the user to grab, pinch, high-five, fist bump and thumbs-up. During the Space Pride project photoshoot Tilly wears the OpenBionics arms.
London Science Museum || UK
The London Science Museum showcases award-winning exhibitions, iconic objects and aims to inspire visitors with stories of incredible scientific achievement. The photoshoot was hosted at the museum.
For Media Inquiries, please contact: info@spacepride.org