Earlier this month, at a special exhibition at the Paris Fashion Week, silks and sequins gave way to cutting-edge designs in fashion technology. Like Chromat’s Adrenalin Dress, with a carbon-fibre skeleton powered by Intel’s Curie computing module, which expands depending on how ‘pumped up’ the wearer is feeling; CuteCircuit’s Kinetic Dress outfit, with microLED illumination, that reacts to the surroundings; and even one that displays tweets in real time. However, the showstopper at the Tumblr event (to celebrate Scarlett Johansson’s cyber-enhanced role in the upcoming Ghost in the Shell ) was Viktoria Modesta, the real-life bionic woman.
Dressed in a white leather ensemble and a prosthetic leg that lit up, the Latvia-born English pop star performed her single, ‘Prototype’ (currently a few clicks away from hitting eight million views on YouTube), which reportedly also inspired “elements of the show through its exploration of fashion, art and technology”.
Spike in the conversation
Modesta’s life is a testament to breaking the shackles of limitations and creating new possibilities, which, in her case, is striking synergy between technology, fashion and human expression. In fact, the singer-artiste, who made it to Marie Claire Belgium’s list of global female changemakers this month, doesn’t subscribe to the title ‘disabled’ (“We are no longer living in the forests where a person with a physical body issue cannot reach their highest potential as a human being through other achievements,” she once told the UK newspaper, The Independent ). Instead, and unsurprisingly, she identifies herself as a ‘prototype’ and is passionate about sparking new conversations about the future of fashion and technology.
Last year, the 30-year-old teamed up with neuroscientists, coders and fashion designers for a multi-media performance at Berlin’s Music Tech Fest — sporting 3D-printed nails that triggered an LED skin interface (to create shifts in lighting on her body) and sensors on her wrists (to activate sound effects). She also collaborated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last year, where she is a Director’s Fellow, to showcase a high-tech artificial leg (The Spike) at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. The exhibition, titled #techstyle, showcased futuristic garments from renowned brands like Alexander McQueen, Viktor&Rolf, and Ralph Lauren.
The first leg
Technology and medical devices, she believes, complement fashion, as she has proved. But the struggle to get to where she is today has been tough. Born in erstwhile USSR, complications at birth left Modesta with a dislocated hip and leg. Reconstructive surgeries (15 of them, from the age of six) did not help. At 12, her family migrated to the UK. “We came with $100, essentially asking for asylum. We did not speak the language; it was very tough. In school, I became an easy target for bullying because I looked different and was also rebellious. But I could see the huge vastness of options that London had to offer. It became more of a playground,” says Modesta, who quit school at 14 to befriend like-minded people in the city’s alternative club scene.
After a voluntary amputation at 20 (“one of the best decisions I’ve made in life”), and several modelling assignments for alternative fashion labels, she shot into the limelight performing at the 2012 London Paralympics closing ceremony — where she wore a prosthetic leg covered in Swarovski diamonds. Now, the face of British media house, Channel 4’s Born Risky disability initiative, she is guest starring in a sci-fi TV show that’s due to air internationally this summer. “The entire production is inspired by my work. I mostly play myself in the show, but it is also a slightly more fantasy me from the future,” says Modesta.
Excerpts from an interview:
Do international fashion and the music industry have a conducive environment for people with disabilities?
I honestly don’t think we are quite there. There is still so much work to be done, it is still a novelty. It is the very beginning stages of what happened with ethnicity and sexuality. The reason I say that is because, even after millions of views and hundreds of thousands of people that know about my work, I operate outside of those industries. The place where I thrive is the newly-emerging community of artistes that work in innovative performance, tech fashion, and have a more futuristic approach.
How do you think technology has helped artistes like you in advancing freedom?
I think technology is beginning to be more integrated into human function and expression. We will not be emotionless robots; using technology can showcase the subtleties we haven’t learned to express yet.
You’ve spoken about how Aimee Mullins, the American athlete and model who walked the ramp with prosthetic legs, inspired you.
Aimee’s work was an anomaly at the time, the world just wasn’t ready. Even though the creative work was executed by Alexander McQueen and Matthew Barney, it was fascinating for me to see that it’s possible to turn your body and identity into an art concept, especially a female body. Of course, the option of different legs and the things you could do with them, was super cool, too, especially as I was about 14 at the time. I really wanted to be the creative brain behind all my imagery and creative direction.
You exude positivity and drive, despite all challenges. How do you face criticism?
When I was a little girl, so many elders who had barely achieved anything at the time, were trying to dim my enthusiasm. Even though I was young and susceptible, I also realised early on that if I followed their fears, I would die. So I chose to believe in myself and my story. Everyone's uniqueness and dreams are worthy.
Could you speak about your current experiments with technology?
The latest one was during Art Basel (last December), where I did a project called Sonifica with Anouk Wipprecht, Monad Studios and LIM Innovations. I wore a 3D-printed musical instrument, in the shape of tusks, and a bustier with sensors, so I could play music accompanied by a mini 3D-printed orchestra.
You’ve spoken about how medical devices can be used in fashion.
I think anything medical, which needs to be worn on the outside, can have design implemented. Historically, people hid braces and prosthetics under clothes, but I think they can be worked into objects of design and desire.
How do you see the integration of technology and fashion evolving?
It will be everywhere. The biggest thing will be how much invisible tech can be integrated into normal clothes — from temperature control to keeping an eye on health, to fabrics mixed with biological organisms.
Your musical inspirations?
I am a fan of Disney! It's my love for doing the unimaginable, the magical and the dramatic that is at the core of me as an artist. I enjoy performing live, because I also get to direct every show and create outfits. It's the creation of an alternative reality that I enjoy, a full hyper-reality moment, so the viewer can follow me on that journey for a moment and experience my energy.
Tell us about your upcoming projects.
There will be more advanced tech/art performances, more music releases and videos, some futuristic product designs, and a few surgical procedures, too. I am also planning my own line of wearables.
Back to the future
Speaking with Modesta got us curious about the advancements being made in prosthetics today. Arun Cherian, a robotics engineer from Columbia University, New York, and the name behind Bengaluru-based Rise Legs — which created the cost-effective cane prosthetic, and has now received a fellowship from MIT to scale it up — sheds some light. The 32-year-old had tested his design at the first Cybathlon (a competition for disabled competitors using bionic assistive technology) in Zurich last year, where his team placed first in two of the Leg Prosthesis races. “Nerve reinnervation, by Dr Todd Kuiken of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, is cutting-edge (where residual nerves of the amputated limb are activated, to control motorised prosthetic devices and regain sensory feedback),” says Cherian, who is working with RIC currently to develop and test their low-cost arm. “Then there is soft bionics, where you weave a special metal called shape memory alloy into fabric, which can then be activated to act as external muscles. There are also high-tech prosthetics, like lightweight multi-articulated joints (powered devices that mimic the human joints) or contact lenses that can monitor your sugar levels,” he concludes.
Take three
Behind the scenes with Modesta
The collection: I have four main art legs that I wear. My favourite is the light-and-chrome one, with white saline bones (that light up) and perspex (acrylic glass) cover.
On the turntable: I listen to many styles of music. My favourite is bass-heavy, electronic dance music. Things like Ape Drums, MIA, and hip hop.
Fashion forward: Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2009 collection. It really captivated me. Their collection had extreme references, but (presented) so elegantly. It was scary but beautiful. It really inspired me.
