Human Leather: The Future of Luxury?

Designer Tina Gorjanc Explores Biotechnology in the Luxury Industry

With "Pure Human," Gorjanc speculates on the possible future applications of biotechnological processes within the luxury industry. The project aims to address the shortcomings present in the current legal system, which allows individuals or organizations to claim ownership over biologically engineered products embedded with human genetic information.

The final outcome of Gorjanc's project is a range of speculative commercial leather products cultivated from extracted human biological material. These products have been exposed to different surface manipulations, specifically selected to imitate three different modifications that human skin undergoes in a lifetime. This action aims to expose the identity of the source and humanize the bodily materials usually depersonalized because of their scale.

What sets "Pure Human" apart is its aim to expose loopholes in the legislation dealing with biotechnologies and test how far they can be exploited to patent someone else's genetic information. The project explores the ability of such a technology to shift the perception of the production system for luxury goods and project its implementation in the current commercial market.

The project was realized using several different techniques ranging from leatherwork, metalwork, glasswork, and prop design. More in-depth research was also carried out in terms of the actual viability of the proposed procedures. The research methodologies include extensive interviews with experts as well as a small portion of laboratory work.

"Pure Human" was developed as a Master Degree project at Central Saint Martins in collaboration with the Imperial College London. It was exhibited at the Milan Design Week in April 2016 as a work in progress project and in the Central Saint Martins graduate show in June 2016 in its final stage. The project also earned a Silver A' Public Awareness, Volunteerism, and Society Design Award in 2017.

In conclusion, "Pure Human" is a thought-provoking project that challenges the boundaries of design, ethics, and law. It offers a glimpse into a future where human genetic information could become a new commodity, raising questions about the potential implications of biotechnology in the luxury industry.