Abstract

Victoria Geaney is a conceptual fashion designer undertaking an MPhil and PhD in Fashion Research at the Royal College of Art entitled “Growing Wearable Technology: Can Collaborative Fashion, Art, Science and Technology (FAST) Practice be Read and Understood as Metamodernism and Biodesign?” (read more)

Victoria worked with the 2014 Imperial College iGEM team on the Aqualose project, producing a grown, bacterial cellulose material from which she produced a unisex waistcoat. This incorporated dyes from coral and Green Fluorescent Protein to produce a glow-in-the-dark effect (link to images).

Victoria’s research includes questions such as: Could you grow fabric or a second skin (or form or engineer its properties)? Could you engineer cells to form a fabric? Or cells that could alter dependent on wearer’s needs? Fabric that changes / grows e.g. becoming waterproof or stain resistant when required? Fabric formed from cells or from engineering nature? Could you build in properties into natural systems e.g. light-up, sound or even as a digital platform?

To hear about these and more, we look forward to welcoming you to this lunchtime seminar in Plant Sciences.