About
Ivan Hunga Garcia (b. 2000, Abrantes, Portugal) develops a multidisciplinary practice across fashion, speculative design, and biotechnology, with a focus on regenerative processes and the sensorial qualities of materials. At the age of fifteen, they moved to Lisbon to study textile production at the António Arroio Art School, later graduating in Fashion Design from ESAD Matosinhos (2021). Alongside their academic training, they worked as a model and interned with Ayres Bespoke Tailor in Porto —where they are now based and runs their own fashion and textile research studio.
Their artistic research gained initial visibility in the Sangue Novo contest (2021/22), where they introduced pieces made from SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). This living material reflects their interest in symbiotic systems between organisms and garment making. Since then, they have taken part in various moments of Lisbon Fashion Week, namely at Espaço Mitra (2022), Galeria Monumental (2023), and Pensão Amor (2024), where the show takes on a performative character.
In 2024, they further expanded their technical scope through a mechatronics course and an internship at CITEVE, within the digital transition department of the textile sector. This multidisciplinary exchange informs a hybrid methodology — one that merges artisanal craft, technological innovation, and ecological thinking.
Their work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions, including: Dirty Looks at Barbican Centre in London (2025-26), F.A.U.X solo exhibition at Saco Azul / Maus Hábitos (2025), “Laboratórios de Design” at the Funchal Arts & Design Biennial (2025), “Corporalidade (Matéria dos Sentidos)” at FACE – Espinho Municipal Museum (2024), “Object Permanence” at Lab.yrinth (2023), “O Último Prefixo” at O Instituto (2022), “Next Generation” at WOW – Museum of Fashion and Fabric (2021), and “Emergências” at Contextile – Contemporary Textile Art Biennial (2018). Their first textile residency took place at Casa da Cerca – Contemporary Art Center in Almada (2018), marking the beginning of an ongoing exploration of experimentation as a critical and sensorial method. “Design is an extension of biological thinking, the way we design as a community defines the contact and intersocial dynamics between humans, species and spaces. In its core, the way we conceptualize is codependent with our perception of morality and power. I design for the subconscious, the memory and sensorial trigger of texture and smell. Within each artistic intention lies the concept of the object as an extension of the body or space it is designed. This translates through microorganism cultures and root systems, backed up with regenerative practices and emphatic use of technology.”
previous projects of IVAN HUNGA GARCIA