The MIT Media Labs Descience competition is where fashion and science come together to create a completely new look for the fashion world. Since Feburary 2014, I have been taking part in an international competiton where I have been partnered with a scientist, Esther Baena, specializing in cancer research. Her research was used as my inspiration for our collaboration project. 

 

Team Transmutation focused on the tumor transformation process from normal to malignant and invasive cells by acquisition of mutations. It’s critical to show the clonal growth of the tumor (diverse transformed cells in a tumor have different aggressiveness) and its heterogeneous behavior. Different textures and colors are incorporated in the design to represent the sequential levels of transformation and advancement of tumor cells.

 

Our inspiration has been the variation in cell shape and increasing roughness along tumor progression. Transformed cells can be identified by histology by their stronger/intensive staining in comparison with surrounding normal tissue/cells. This  is represented by different color schemes and volume.

 

A tight collaboration has been made through an exchange of pictures, ideas, sketches, science cartoons, producing iterative design concepts.  These designs have been furthered developed with fabric manipulations and prototypes which are jointly reviewed to ensure purity to the research effort and design experience.

 

Using silk organza, we will deploy leading edge boiling and ice dying techniques on the fabric to represent a tumor transformation. The fabric will be layered to demonstrate how cancer evolves and expands along the tumor process. The design will mimic the tumor transformation by taking advantage of the fabric textures and colors. To reinforce the dramatic impact on the body, a normal cell is depicted by a leather skin color belt and provides a contrast to the advancing tumors.

 

Team Transmutation finished the competiton placing in the top 5 and was futured in Boston Art Week at the Kosh Institute.