Bio-Digital Fashion
BACK TO OUR ROOTS
This project explores a new way of garment creation. Could tree and mycrozial roots be engineered to grow our clothing? By collaborating with roots, not only are we living closer to nature but we can remove the traditional method of garment manufacturing, reducing waste and pollution.
Conveco 2.0
This project was born from the concept of plant communication and human invasion in natural environments. We envisioned that biosensors could be placed on plants in two different locations and a console, in a separate location, would facilitate communication between them. This would encourage plant-to-plant support to help them thrive in human-polluted areas.
As our natural environments are becoming increasingly threatened by climate change by human action, could humans learn to communicate with plants to help save it?
This led to Conveco 2.0; a conceptual bioskin which could be built into clothing that enables communication between plants and humans.
The bioskin would intercept plants' Action Potentials (electrical signals), allowing humans to learn from plants about their needs and desires. This would help us further support and protect their environments and our world.
BioFabric Futures
Biofabric Futures considers the emotional effect of climate change and how this drives consumers to desire clothing that manifests a sense of protection. As a material-led designer, my garments are made from upcycled second-hand firemen’s uniforms. These materials are specifically designed to protect the wearer in extreme environments and will offer physical and phycological security to my consumer. Biofabricated textiles such as SCOBY's (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) and mycelium (root network of mushrooms) feature throughout. Scoby’s present the speculative design opportunity to consider how we can bio-hack organisms to create sensory fabric; bacteria’s DNA could be altered to recognise high levels of air pollution and alert the wearer to it by changing colour which is showcased digitally using clo3d. Mycelium is used to create hats and accessories which can offer emotional connections to our environmental world without inflicting harm once thrown away.
The Fabricant
A competition entry I created for The Fabricant's 2021 project to redesign their Adidas X Karlie Kloss jacket.
This is building on my biodesign practice of growing bacteria as an alternative textile to pleather and speculating about its potential uses as a sensory fabric if the bacteria's DNA was biohacked to change colour when exposed to high levels of air pollution or radiation. Increasing the volume of responsive textiles within fashion could reduce the volume of waste materials as textiles would be produced for multiple purposes, thus reducing waste. It could also have a practical basis's in personalised medicine, allowing the consumer to be more in tune with their own bodies and surroundings.
Digital Catwalk
Throughout my final year of University, I collaborated with a collection of Computer Animation students, Games Designers and Music Producers to create a digital catwalk to show off the collection I have created in clo3d.