Rouse Awards – Rachel Glinsman’s bioluminescent, laser-cut dress design

20 Nov 2017

Rachel Glinsman (Upper Sixth) collected the Rouse Award for the Creative Arts after producing a dress that combined bioluminescence with laser cutting techniques.

The Rouse Awards judges were taken aback at the “dramatic effect” of the garment created and were fascinated by her account of how she brought her initial idea to fruition.

It was a rare foray into three-dimensional art for Rachel, who was inspired by cutting edge fashion designers Iris van Herpen and Rami Kadi.

She said: “The main aim for my project was to see how I could cross the boundaries between art and science. It’s a completely new area that I’d never looked into before and not normally something I’d cover at A level.

“It also allowed me to experiment with different media and different technologies such as laser cutting to bring together the artistic piece I created.”

Rachel decided to create a bioluminescent effect, making the dress appear differently in light and dark, after viewing the phenomenon in the Protein Data Bank’s library of images.

She said: “It was something I’d never looked into before. It allowed me to study something from different viewpoints and also delve deeper into the science behind the glowing phenomenon.

“The bright, fluorescent green nature of bioluminescence in jellyfish and other deep sea organisms and the fact it looks completely different when it’s glowing in the dark to the way it looks in the light makes it visually very interesting.”

Listen to Rachel explain more about her design and how it has influenced her take on art.

The Rouse Awards are generously sponsored by Alan and Valerie Hirzel.