“I created this fabric from a lab technique that I use called the western blot. Western blot is an method that tests biological samples for the presence of specific proteins. Breast cancer cell lines were cultured in vitro and proteins produced by the cells were tested by western blot. Using this technique, I proved the presence of proteins commonly found on exosomes, small nano-sized vesicles (bubbles) produced by all cells of the body. What this ultimately means is that bre

Masha Titova, a Junior at the Massachussetts College of Art and Design and a Descience enthusiast created this dress. It contains no fabric whatsoever. We asked Masha to tell us about her inspiration and process. Masha: "I had taken apart an old flat iron and got inspired by all of the parts that were inside; little computer chips and pieces. They made me think of beads and I fell in love. I was able to acquire quite a few old parts from my father's work, which allowed me

AMAZING RESPONSE FROM SCIENTISTS As the Science Director of Descience, I am thrilled to see that scientists from different parts of the world and from widespread research disciplines have applied to Descience with such interest and enthusiasm. Scientists have shared mind-blowing images entailing amazing scientific stories that will provide an online inspiration gallery for designers. I am proud to have such an exciting and varied group of scientists forming part of this proje

Descience is very pleased to welcome aboard Kelly Reddy-Best; scholar, activist, talented designer and assistant professor of apparel design at San Francisco State University. The first to apply when registration opened on Monday, Kelly inspires us with her enthusiam and killer portfolio. Her work is a wonderful illustration of fashion as medium for communicating important ideas and generating a conversation. We asked Kelly to walk us through her creative process: INSPIRATIO

Inspiration. A word describing a moment. Fractions of a second in which you know you are about to experience the unique. Time freezes, your brain starts working at a hundred miles an hour filling that empty canvas in your mind, conveying that idea you are just about to have. The whole natural world intrigues scientists. They want to understand it and seek inspiration on it. There is a continuous pursuit of knowledge of the underlying causes behind how nature works. To achieve

Descience would like to introduce participating designer Valentina Oppezzo. With an eclectic background, Valentina has a bachelor’s in Intercultural Studies and a Master’s in Cinema. She wrote a book, published in Italy, about the Harry Potter movies. She worked as a fashion photographer and Italian teacher and she attended classes at the School of Fashion Design of Boston in 2012/2013 as a part-time student. Born in Northern Italy, she now lives in the Boston area with her

Let us introduce you to Amanda James; a PhD student in environmental sciences at the University of California, and a Descience participant. We asked Amanda to tell us about her research involving plant species that are outcompeting and destroying native ecosystems. How can we prevent this from happening? Read and learn. --“You study plants in school right?” --“Yeah…that’s pretty much my entire graduate project Dad. Why do you ask?” --“Well, why are all the plants so ugly here

We have had a ton of fun this week as our teams have provided us with feedback on their first meetings and the team names they have chosen. Together, one scientist and one designer, who would otherwise likely have never met, have been sharing their work with one another and making plans for their Descience Runway 2014 creations. Team 50 is composed of Sherry (Shih-Hui) Chang and Pablo Rojas. Together, they coined the name “OBUBA” to represent their team and here’s why: "OBUBA

TEAM: The Hijackers DESIGNER: Kyley N Smithers SCIENTIST: Cindy Lai Cindy and I were both drawn to each other for different reasons. Cindy told me part of the reason she was drawn to me was that the photographs I submitted of my designs were taken outside. I was so happy to hear that we are both intrigued by and have a love with the outdoors. I was drawn to Cindy's beautiful bright green images. I love how bacteria and intestines are normally considered ugly but in this case

Kyley and I both met in person for the first time at the Descience event at Doffie Studio last week. I was immediately taken with the dress she was wearing, which she made herself. We both had a great time. The setting in the art studio was a inspiring and set just the right mood. And the mini fashion show was a bonus. We met again the next day in Rhode Island where Kyley introduced me to one of her favorite cafes and we chatted over tea for over 2 hours. She told me about he