Today, We March for Science
Brooke Roberts is both a fashion designer and a scientist – a radiographer to be exact. Based in London, Roberts successfully combines a duel career to design and produce innovative digital knitwear, which is inspired from CT and MRI brain scans.
To learn more about it, Serious Wonder recently interviewed Roberts who is preparing to launch her online retail store.
This new fusion of technology with fashion, science and the future has attracted international attention. In a TED Talk last year, Roberts promoted the arts as a tool to influence science, in particular medical science.
“I was doing a brain scan one day in a British hospital where I was working, and it just occurred to me how beautiful and rhythmic the patterns were in the brain scan. This is great for mixing with other themes, and creating something artistic from. Since I understood the technology behind digital knitwear I had the idea to combine the two. They’re both digital mediums – one medical, one creative, and from there I started to experiment.” – Brooke Roberts
Roberts, a science graduate from a family of wool growers in rural Australia, worked as a radiographer to finance her fashion course at Central St Martins, in London. After graduating, she gained experience by freelancing for other designers, and continues to work as a radiographer today.
The founder of her own label, Roberts designs stunning digital knitwear for smart, professional women – especially those with an interest in science. It has been a welcome and refreshing perspective on fashion.
Each design in a collection is created with mathematical precision using Photoshop, and converted into a digital file. The designs are taken to the manufacturer to be developed and tested. Industrial digital knitting machines are then programmed to create the finished garments.
Roberts takes her inspiration for each collection from research with medical scans or sometimes from an article in a medical journal. She combines this with images from other creative disciplines, and is particularly drawn to futuristic art, design, architecture and robotics, rather than regurgitating ideas from the past.
The opportunity to collaborate on a diverse range of creative projects has enabled Roberts to reach a wider audience, and to build her label from scratch.
From researching new brain imaging techniques for the Allen Institute, in Seattle, to artistic collaborations in film, music and dance that have showcased Roberts’ talent – each project has developed her skill as a designer, enriched the quality of her work and kept it fresh and exciting. You will see a lot more from this rising star in the future.
“Some people may not believe in combining fashion with something that is organic and in some ways academic, like science. But my label is about bringing these disciplines closer together, using technology which drives what I do. It’s also important to start a new conversation in fashion, and to promote other sources of inspiration and enlightenment. It’s humbling to recognise that there are other ways to do things – and exciting too.” – Brooke Roberts
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
Scientists are now using 3D imaging software in brain and coronary artery scans, through ultrasound and infrared imaging techniques. Innovative technology like this is inspiring a new generation of creative thinkers, like Brooke Roberts, to find original ways to bridge different disciplines. As this century unfolds, we will increasingly draw inspiration from people who can visualise the future and make it tangible for others.
Aesthetics will be heavily influenced by advances made in technology, utilising its sophisticated capabilities for fusing together different techniques to create something gob-smacking and original. This creative fusion also has the capacity to elevate creative expression to a whole new dimension of experience, as we can see from Roberts’ designs.
Roberts is an ambassador for Woolmark UK in their campaign to promote new technology innovations in wool, and will also be teaming up with a medical charity to bring out a T-shirt line to coincide with the opening of her online store. Subscribe to her free newsletter and you could win a free T-shirt.
Photo Credit: Brooke Roberts
About the author
Massimo Barbato is a writer and commentator on AI and future technologies in the British press and media. His focus is on how we can build a better world. www.artificial-intelligence.org.uk/
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