This article was taken from the March 2011 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Developmental biology meets couture in the striking work of artist and designer Helen Storey.
The closest that many fashionistas get to science is reading about fad diets, but not Helen Storey. Her collection,
Primitive Streak, comprises a series of sculptural frocks that represent stages of human development from fertilisation to first breath. "I wanted to demystify an area of biology that's quite complex," says the designer, who is based at the London College of Fashion.
Funded by the Wellcome Trust, she first showed the garments at London's Institute of Contemporary Art in 1997. They made a splash -- so much so that now the trust has asked Storey, 51, to revive the project with new designs about the development of the lungs. A UK tour starts in Sheffield on February 21.
Storey has retained nine favourites from the original set, such as the Spinal-Column Dress (above), which expresses the first 30 to 40 days of human growth. The silk was printed with a DNA pattern using laboratory gel, and threaded with 8,000 optical fibres to suggest the sprouting of nerves. The more literal
Implantation Dress (above right) is made of a white silk jersey, and shows an egg entering the uterus wall during days five to 11.
The science came mainly from Storey's sibling, Kate, a developmental biologist. "It was quite hard being taught by my sister," Storey admits. But the discipline now pervades all her output -- Storey proudly tells of getting sci-couture on to the pages of Vogue. Still, she's keen to distance herself from gimmicky wearable electronics. "I'm unconvinced by having gadgetry as part of your clothing," she says. "There's something a bit repellent about it. It's the equivalent of club wear." Perhaps having good taste is genetic, after all? <a href="/helenstoreyfoundation.org" target="_blank">helenstoreyfoundation.org</a>
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
