Fashion and Science are two things that you don't normally think of going together. Working in a lab makes one dress functionally, often with a plain white lab coat like you see in the movies. This fashion + science collaboration reflects upon that image by using scientific research as an inspiration for fashion. I worked with Boston-based designer Tatiana Tejedor (Caramelo Clothing) developing a dress inspired by our latest research on using bacteria as a cancer detection and treatment approach. The dress was made up of images of fluorescent breast cancer cells, transformed into a print, and finally decorated with fluorescent bacteria to make the dress 'glow' in the dark. This collaboration was part of the Fashion Descience competition, a project that pairs a scientist with a fashion designer to create garments inspired by science.
Our design was a top 5 finalist in the Fashion Descience Runway Show, received an Honorable Mention, and covered by The Atlantic and CBS. Photos from Fashion Descience Runway Show courtesy of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research (Marta Murcia).