Student plans to make leather goods from Alexander McQueen's DNA

Tina Gorjanc, a student at Central Saint Martins College in London, has announced a project to produce accessories made from human leather grown from the DNA of the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen. The project, titled Pure Human, uses DNA extracted from hair that McQueen had sewn into the labels of his first collection, Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims. A laboratory cultured skin tissue genetically belonging to McQueen, which Gorjanc intends to use to create bags and accessories. Prototypes made from pig skin were exhibited at the end-of-course show. Gorjanc highlights legal loopholes in genetic material regulation, stating that if a student can patent material from McQueen's biological information without legal impediment, large corporations with significant funding could do far more in the future. The project is conceptual but based on real scientific processes, aiming to provoke discussion on the ethical and legal implications of using genetic information without consent.