Human anatomy inspires designers

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In recent times, science and technology are influencing the textiles, printing, colour and shapes in a big way. As a result our bodies are fast becoming a new territory for exploration by designers to generate a new aesthetic by combining creative with science. Internationally many high street fashion brands have used microscopic imaging to create contemporary prints and textile patterns. Designers like Celine, Victoria Beckham, Givenchy and Balenciaga have also been inspired by this trend. Closer home at the ongoing WLIFW, many designers have fused fashion with biology and the designs no less than art pieces.
Fashion is not really about the body, it’s about dressing you heart, says designer Ashish N. Soni, whose latest collection Cytology — The Micro Lab is an amalgamation of a series of prints that celebrate the uniqueness of the cells. “Cells are the basic units of life. They move and replicate. My collection consists of a mixture of screen prints as well an array of digital prints of red blood cells, neurons, vitamins, and glucose in a photographic setting. The microscopic slides appear as brightly coloured pieces of stained glass, or tiny abstract paintings,” explains Ashish.
Kallol Datta, who is known for his dark themes and darker interpretations, has worked on a collection that deals with the suicide rituals in Japan. Last season it was autopsies that stunned the audience. So there are foetuses and cross-sectional images of bones floating on the designs. He says, “I’ve always gravitated towards the pathological side of the human body and medical procedures. This time I have focused on bones to create chevron patterns using magnified versions of the femur and tibia. I have used fabrics to create the exoskeletons.”
Designer Samant Chauhan has also touched the human skeleton to celebrate the beauty of the bony structure. Though he has not done many pieces, he plans to do a series for the next season. The trigger for this sudden interest in human anatomy came from an unfortunate incident. Samant tells us, “Sometime back my wife had an accident and fractured her leg. When I saw the X-ray, something about the image stayed in my head. I realised that everybody wants to drape the outside when the inside of the body is yet to be explored. So I decided to experiment with the pattern to bring alive the beauty of the inside on the ramp.”
Their honey comb print resembles the human DNA and they picked thumb impressions to create heart-esque prints, as the idea behind designer brothers Dev and Nil’s SS collection is love and happiness. Heart is the primary organ related to love, informs Dev and Nil adds, “Thumb impression is all about our identity. It represents your whole being. And we believe that some sort of love drives people in life to do things. So we combined the two thoughts to craft hearts and footprints using thumb imprints.”
Designer Narresh, who has done a lot of anatomy-inspired designs during his graduation days, says that the system’s complexity makes it so engaging and an inspiration for many designers.