Ephematerials

Ephematerials is a commissioned work for Margot Verstuyft's 3rd BA Fashion collection Portrait of a Lady at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. The project investigates the material and formal possibilities of protein-based biomaterials through the development of a series of accessories.

Each piece is constructed from a collagen-derived biomaterial, the properties of which, including drape, tension, and surface behaviour, were tested and developed throughout the making process itself. Rather than applying the material to a predetermined form, the project used the design of wearables as a method of inquiry: a way of understanding what the material is capable of, and what new aesthetics and structures it might make possible. Model: Billie Kennes, makeup: Joek Janssens.