Jacqueline Firkins, an assistant professor in the Theatre and Film department of the University of British Columbia, recently designed ten very unusual evening dresses.
“It really started from the idea of trying to figure out how to use my craft as an artist in conjunction with somebody way outside of my field," Firkins said on the project's website.
While the pink ribbon and related merchandising are the most frequent representation of the disease, many women who have battled cancer feel a disconnect with that imagery, Firkins said.
So she and colleague Professor Christian C.G. Naus teamed up to create a wearable project that was more connected to the disease itself.
Each gown in the collection was inspired by cells in different stages of cancer:
Small intestine channels that enhance (or prevent) cancer growth
Brain tumor growing in a culture dish
Brain cells on the move
Brain cells in a dish
Proteins in brain cancer cells
And cancer cells invading healthy brain cells.
“I love that people are talking about cancer in a different way, that people are looking at the cellular research now,” Firkins said.
