Alexander McQueen’s Skin Is Being Used To Make Handbags And Leather Jackets
Yep, no, that’s not a typo
This may just qualify as one of the weirder news stories we’ve ever run, but a student at Central Saint Martins is using Alexander McQueen’s skin as part of a patent-pending fashion design project for her degree, according to The Quartz.
Tina Gorjac, who is based in London at the school, is reportedly using the late designer’s DNA to grow human skin in a lab, which will then be converted into leather jackets and handbags. The “skin” will precisely reflect Mr McQueen’s own, with his tattoos, freckles and moles in the exact same locations and the same size.
Gorjac was able to sample the designer’s DNA from his “Jack The Ripper Stalks His Victims” collection which was released back in 1992, as McQueen sewed his own hair into some of the pieces.
The project, which will likely end up in a gallery as opposed to a shopping mall, is called “Pure Human” and Quartz explains that Gorjac is aiming to highlight “how corporations might one day exploit genetic information for luxury goods, and to showcase how little protection exists for a person’s DNA.”
The house of McQueen is also reportedly on board with the project, though there is no direct affiliation. Gorjac told the publication, “At my final show, one of the McQueen representatives came to see my project. They were really fascinated with the idea and I’ve had a really positive response from them. People that were really close to him or that worked for his institution said he might have actually liked the idea. He was always pushing the boundaries and always trying to break laws in fashion.”
Considering, McQueen’s controversial approach to many a catwalk show, we’re sure he would have relished the idea.