A team of eight Syracuse University students including Maxwell economics major Bobby Anzaldua have launched a clothing line called Solace Collective that is specially designed for those seeking comfort, style and who may identify on the broad spectrum of neurodivergent conditions.

Their prototypes include loose fitting sweatshirts and pants with adjustable wrist and ankle bands, slightly weighted tops and bottoms, and pieces with fabric meant for fidgeting.

The team participated in the Social Impact Pitch Competition hosted on April 3 by the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health in partnership with the University’s Blackstone LaunchPad. Standing before a panel of judges in Bird Library, members talked about the lack of fashionable attire for adults, and shared plans to officially launch later this spring. 

Their pitch paid off: Solace Collective won the competition’s top prize, $8,000 in seed money that members say will go toward garment patent applications and legal costs associated with forming the business entity.

“Upon hearing that we won, I was ecstatic and knew that we were just one step closer to our overall goal,” said Anzaldua. “I hope we can make a meaningful impact by helping neurodivergent individuals feel included in current fashion trends.”

In addition to Anzaldua, Solace team members include Aidan Turner, Lucas d'Oelsnitz, Aphrodite Ruby Gioulekas, Maria-Camila Molina, Christine Ianniello, Bella Tabak, Carolyn Fernandes and Francine Tongol. They represent a range of degree programs, from architecture to public relations. Anzaldua provides financial analysis for the group.

The competition asked entrants to address public health misinformation. In his opening remarks, Vicente Cuevas explained that the mission of the Lerner Center is to advance population health through research, education, and community engagement.

“This competition is a perfect reflection of that mission in action,” said Cuevas, Lerner’s undergraduate student engagement manager. “We believe that empowering students to become changemakers is one of the most powerful ways to improve the health and well-being of our communities. This competition was created to encourage students from across campus to think boldly, creatively and compassionately about solutions that can make a real difference in the lives of others.”

Maxwell alumnus Andrew Schwab ‘03 B.A. (Hist/PSt), founder and CEO of Platform Government Strategies, was among the judges. He was joined by Anthony McEachern, senior manager and national account executive for Wellpartner; Peggy Neu, senior advisor at GRACE Communications Foundation and former president of The Monday Campaigns public health initiative; and Gina Wingood, the Sidney and Helaine Lerner Professor of Public Health Promotion at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

The judges awarded the second-place prize of $4,000 to student Asher Baykitch, who presented The Better Man Project, an educational program designed to help young men navigate masculinity in a way that’s honest, emotionally grounded and rooted in respect. Other contestants included team Mentally Mindful comprised of Abdiweli Dahir and Rebecca Akinwale—both Maxwell majors, and team Eljo Alto comprised of students Joshua Richter, Tommy DaSilva, Alyssa Nunez Tapia and Ela Pllumaj; DaSilva is a Maxwell student.

The Solace Collective received prior financial backing from Intelligence ++, a partnership between the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education (InclusiveU), the College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Design and SU Libraries.

Eventually, the Solace Collective team aims to expand into business casual clothing, undergarments, sportswear and features that customers can buy separately and attach to clothes they already own.

“What set them apart was not just their design innovation, but their public health impact: they directly confronted misinformation by validating sensory sensitivities as legitimate health needs, not just behavioral quirks,” said Cuevas. “In doing so, they challenged stigma, empowered self-expression, and embodied exactly the kind of equity-driven, community-rooted change (social impact) this competition was designed to spotlight.”

By Jessica Youngman

Shown above, from left to right are Aphrodite Ruby Gioulekas, Lucas d'Oelsnitz, Aidan Turner, Micol Ceccarini, Carolyn Fernandes, Maria-Camila Molina, and Vicente Cuevas. Micol Ceccarini is a sociology and citizenship and civic engagement major at Maxwell who is interning with the Lerner Center, and Cuevas is Lerner’s undergraduate student engagement manager. Photo by Thomas O’Brien.