MasterCard strikes a pose with Fashion and Design Hack event
The card network announced a partnership with The New School's Parsons School of Design.
MasterCard Monday announced a partnership with The New School's Parsons School of Design to bring what the card network calls a "forward-thinking, design-led" approach to payments technology. In a Fashion and Design Hack sponsored by the two organizations, teams of students will compete to develop products and build prototypes for connected commerce by embedding payments functionality into products, new designs or concepts, according to a press release.
MasterCard said the engagement with Parsons' design students pushes forward MasterCard's vision to bring consumers a new generation of connected commerce experiences. Consumers saw some of the possibilities in the forms of connected key fobs, a payment-enabled dress and other smart accessories late last year when MasterCard introduced its Commerce for Every Device program. The program aims to enable commerce on a wide array of consumer products across automotive, fashion, technology, wearables, and yet to be imagined categories, according to the announcement.
"As the world becomes more and more connected, the way consumers interact and transact is transforming," said Sherri Haymond, senior vice president of digital payments and labs for MasterCard. "What you buy and how you pay will soon blend seamlessly into your lifestyle as design, usability and technology merge together in new ways. The Fashion and Design Hack with Parsons is another way for us to integrate design-led thinking into payments innovation and tap into the creativity and ingenuity of the school’s design students."
Teams of three students each were selected through a competitive submission process at Parsons and will compete for $15,000 in prize money and an opportunity to showcase their creations at leading MasterCard industry events. The day-long Fashion and Design Hack will take place at The New School's University Center, in New York City, on Saturday, March 5, and students from the fashion, industrial design, product design, data visualization, and design and technology programs will participate.
"How people and products interact is changing rapidly," said Burak Cakmak, dean of Parsons School of Fashion at The New School. "More and more, companies are turning to design to help build a more positive consumer experience. By partnering with Parsons, MasterCard is engaging with our students’ creative and innovative approaches to design viable solutions."
Following an initial meeting to discuss research and initial concepts, the teams will have just seven hours on the day of the challenge to create their prototypes before presenting them to a panel of esteemed judges, including:
- Adam Selman, fashion designer;
- Barnett Zitron, managing director of MADE, a WME-IMG company;
- Burak Cakmak, Dean of the School of Fashion at Parsons; and
- Sherri Haymond, SVP of digital payments and labs at MasterCard.
"Technology is playing a greater and greater role in all aspects of our lives, including fashion," said Selman. "The connected device revolution won't necessarily be limited to our wrists. And we need creative minds to push the boundaries of their imagination and develop design concepts that are truly inventive. Through this collaboration, the new generation of design students will have the opportunity to bring to life concepts that incorporate cutting-edge design with the latest in payments technology."