(Photo: Elizabeth Esponnette)
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia! It's the classic Chia Pet home decoration made into a garment. Elizabeth Esponnette, a product design professor at the University of Oregon, made this living vest. She spread chia seeds over a muslin garment soaked in water. They grew quickly and even attracted snails. It's a veritable ecosystem!
Esponnette wants to reinvent how we look at clothing. Ecoterre quotes her:
By manipulating materials we’re comfortable in, and those we are not, she seeks to explore new structural and performance possibilities for the products we use.
“Why it is that we are comfortable wearing cow, but uncomfortable wearing other materials like hot glue, chia, and crystal?” she asked. “Is there an optimum level of familiarity with a material for our comfort level?”
-via Inhabitat