Cultured Couture

jacketThis tiny jacket was grown in vitro from a combination of mouse and human cells. Wired News reports on the University of Western Australia's Tissue Culture & Art Project:

"One of the most common and somewhat surprising comments we heard was that people were disturbed by our ethics of using living cells to grow living fabric," said (Ionat) Zurr, "while the use of leather obtained from animals seems to be accepted without any concern for the well-being of the animals from which the skin has been removed."

The group is now collaborating with extreme body artists Orlan and Stelarc on semi-living clothing and prosthetics.
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