Bacteria’s Got You Covered

by Gabrielle Hennessey

Austrian designer Sonja Bäumel has created conceptual pieces of clothing meant to remind us of — get this — the bacteria that is constantly on our skin.

Her project, (In)visible Membrane, explores the idea that the healthy, natural human body is host to thousands of bacteria — a fact which we, especially in our hysteria over swine flu, would like very much to forget. Like it or not, our skin is a vast ecosystem for bacteria, which Bäumel visualizes (quite beautifully) as covering us like a delicate net of lace-like spray.

We love the symbolism behind Bäumel’s pieces (especially the opera-length openwork gloves, which we would love to wear), because we agree that it’s important to be aware of everything that is around — and on — us, in order to understand how we as humans fit into the Big Picture.

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