Profile
Jack Burns (he/him) is a multi-hyphenate strategic designer with roots in entrepreneurship, education, and fashion. His dynamic range of experience includes: founding Genusee the first circular-economy eyewear company, with mentorship from XRC Labs, Fjord and IDEO; serving as a professor at Parsons for over 5 years; and recently earning a master's degree in Transdisciplinary Design. His practice centers on strategy, foresight, and participatory research methods. With over a decade of experience, Jack Burns has helped craft and implement successful strategies as a thought leader in design and facilitation for research institutions and companies globally.
Throughout his career, Jack has received awards from LVMH, CFDA, and the Accessories Council. Jack’s work has been heralded by World News Tonight, Vogue, T-Mag of The New York Times, and Elle Magazine, among other note-worthy publications, as a beacon of sustainable business and design practices. He has spoken on panels and presented works at The CFDA Education Summit, Primer Conference, United Nations Economic and Social Youth Forum, Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute: Fashion For Good Systems, and Global Brands Group Sustainability Conference.
Degrees Held
MFA Transdisciplinary Design, Parsons The New School of Design (2022)
BFA Fashion Design, Parsons The New School of Design (2014)
Professional Affiliation
Member: Council of Fashion Designers of America+
Board Member: Genusee
Cohort Affiliate: XRC Labs
Mentor: Impact Entrepreneurship Initiative
Performances and Appearances
Speaker: Primer Conference, Experiences of Time - 2022, San Francisco
Panelist and Exhibited Works: Worldmaking Media Show - 2022, NYC
Exhibited Works: GAEA Garden Of The Second & Third Dimensions - 2021, NYC
Fellow: CFDA Elaine Gold Launch Pad - 2017 - 2018, NYC
Panelist: Sustainability Conference Global Brands Group - 2018, NYC
Jurist: CFDA Elaine Gold Launch Pad - 2018, NYC
Panelist: Fashion For Good Systems Eileen Fisher Leadership Institute - 2018, NYC
Panelist: ECOSOC Youth Forum United Nations - 2018, NYC
Speaker: Sub Rosa "Design Thinking" - 2018, NYC
Panelist: Education Summit CFDA - 2018, NYC
Exhibited Works: United Nations Global Arts At Carnegie Hall - 2016, NYC
Speaker: China Textile Innovation Conference - 2016, Shishi, Fujian
Fellow: Parsons Design Lab - 2014, NYC
Exhibited Works (1st Prize): Louis Vuitton Reconstruction - 2013, Paris
Research Interests
Design Futures, Systems, Circular Economy, Unlearning, Waste,
Awards And Honors
CFDA Elaine Gold Launch Pad - 2018
United Nations Global Arts - 2017
LDNY Competition (Menswear Winner) - 2014
CFDA+ - 2014
Louis Vuitton Reconstruction 3.0, First Prize - 2013
Featured Articles About Jack's work
ABC World News Tonight with David Muir: "Company seeks to give discarded plastic bottles a new purpose and Flint a clearer future" - https://abcnews.go.com/Business/WorldNews/company-seeks-give-discarded-plastic-bottles-purpose-flint/story?id=55241831
VOGUE: "This New Socially Conscious Brand Is Making Chic Eyewear From Flint's Leftover Water Bottles" - https://www.vogue.com/article/genusee-eyewear-flint-water-crisis-upcycling-indiegogo-ethical-fashion
New York Times - T Mag: "6 Things T Editors Like Right Now" - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/20/t-magazine/chloe-sevigny-lipstick-cristaseya-plates-editors-picks.html
Bustle: "Genusee Eyewear Recycles Plastic Bottles From Flint To Make Accessories & You Can Still Help Its Kickstarter" - https://www.bustle.com/p/genusee-eyewear-recycles-plastic-bottles-from-flint-to-make-accessories-you-can-still-help-its-kickstarter-9105389
Martha Stewart: "These Credit Cards (and 4 Other Items) Are Made Out of Plastic Pollution - Turning trash into treasure." - https://www.marthastewart.com/1529614/5-things-you-wont-believe-are-made-plastic-pollution
Working Not Working Magazine: "Meet The Flint Based Eyewear Brand Doing Good for People and the Planet" - https://workingnotworking.com/magazine/2018/5/11/meet-the-flint-based-eyewear-brand-doing-good-for-people-and-the-planet
NPR, Michigan Radio, Stateside: "Garbage in, glasses out: Company turns Flint's water bottle waste into eyewear business" - http://michiganradio.org/post/garbage-glasses-out-company-turns-flint-s-water-bottle-waste-eyewear-business
Affinity Magazine: "Meet the Eyewear Brand Doing More for Flint than Governor Snyder" - http://affinitymagazine.us/2018/05/06/meet-the-glasses-company-doing-more-for-flint-than-govenor-snyder/
Ravelin Magazine: "The Launch of Genusee's Upcycled Eyewear" - http://ravelinmagazine.com/posts/launch-genusees-upcycled-eyewear/
ABC 12 (Local Flint News): "Turning old Flint water bottles into frames for glasses" - http://www.abc12.com/content/news/Turning-old-Flint-water-bottles-into-frames--480891141.html
WDET 101.9FM (Detroit Public Radio): "New Company to Make Glasses out of Flint's Used Water Bottles" - https://wdet.org/posts/2018/05/02/86734-new-company-to-make-glasses-out-of-flints-used-water-bottles/
Undo-Ordinary: "Be The Change You Want to See with Genusee" - https://undoordinary.com/be-the-change-you-want-to-see-with-genusee/
Ravelin Magazine: "Genusee Creates Eyewear To Help Find A Way Out Of Flint's Plastic Bottle Calamity" - http://ravelinmagazine.com/posts/genusee-creates-eyewear-help-find-way-flints-plastic-bottle-calamity/
WWD: CFDA, Accessories Council Unveil Elaine Gold Launch Pad Recipients - http://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/cfda-accessories-council-announces-elaine-gold-launch-pad-recipients-1202600926/
WWD: CFDA, Accessories Council Select Participants in Elaine Gold Launch Pad - http://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/cfda-accessories-council-select-participants-in-elaine-gold-launch-pad-10954468/
Fashion United: At the CFDA Fashion Education Summit; Materials Matter - https://fashionunited.com/news/fashion/at-the-cfda-fashion-education-summit-materials-matter/2018022519900
VIDEO: United Nations ECOSOC Youth Forum 2018 - Tech and Innovation Panel, SDG Media Zone - http://webtv.un.org/search/tech-and-innovation-sdg-media-zone-ecosoc-youth-forum-2018/5723391789001/?term=sdg+media+zone&sort=date#t=9m7s
Vision Monday: Eyewear Start-Up Among the Accessories Council and CFDA's Elaine Gold Launch Pad Winners - http://www.visionmonday.com/article/eyewear-startup-among-the-accessories-council-and-cfdas-elaine-gold-launch-pad-winners/
CFDA: Inside the 2018 Fashion Education Summit - https://cfda.com/news/inside-the-2018-fashion-education-summit
CFDA: Elaine Gold Launch Pad Designers Learn "New" Models of Commerce - https://cfda.com/news/elaine-gold-launch-pad-designers-learn-new-models-of-commerce
CFDA: Elaine Gold Launch Pad Fellows Take the Next Steps - https://cfda.com/news/elaine-gold-launch-pad-fellows-take-next-steps