Central Saint Martins graduate Rosie Broadhead has integrated live bacteria into the fibres of clothing that reduces body odour, encourages cell renewal and improves the immune system, when activated by sweat.
By encapsulating live bacteria into the fibres of a leotard-like garment, the designer hopes to create a new interaction between fabric and skin through the use of probiotic technology.

As Broadhead explained, our skin acts as a primary defence against germs and is home to hundreds of millions of microorganisms that work to keep us healthy.
However, our modern compulsion with cleanliness and sterility creates a difficult environment for many beneficial organisms to survive.
Developed in collaboration with microbiologist Christopher Callewaert, Broadhead's Skin II project aims to use what is naturally on our bodies to make our clothing function better.
She strategically positioned probiotic bacteria on the skin-tight garment at points that typically produce the most sweat and would benefit from the introduction of the bacteria, such as the armpits, down the forearms, under the chest area and the sides of the torso.
These areas of the garment are activated once they come into contact with moisture on the wearer's skin. This allows the bacteria to dominate other, less beneficial, bacteria already present on the skin.
According to Broadhead, the integrated bacteria in the garment can reduce body odour, encourage cell renewal, and improve the skin's immune system.

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