Atlas of Fashion Designers

221

Helen Storey

Helen Storey

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 e work of Helen Storey places itself somewhere beyond the scope of fashion in a frontier

space between art and science, a mysterious, unexplored void that the artist has entered

in order to forge a new language, a plastic code by virtue of which science acquires a new,

epiphanic meaning.

Fruit of the bond between Helen and her biologist sister was a restlessness that led the

designer and artist to comprehend biological processes using the language she knew best:

that of fashion.  e result was her multi-prize-winning collection Primitive Streak, a visual

narration of the process of embryonic development through garments charged with theat-

ricality and optical force.  e impact of this collection was so signifi cant that the head of

a powerful pharmaceutical company wanted it to be made known throughout the world.

A large number of artists, fashion experts, scientists and researchers in the making have

praised Helen’s work.

Other projects followed, such as Mental and Eye & I, following the same line of aesthetic

investigation of the scientifi c through art under the auspices of the Helen Storey Founda-

tion, a research lab charged with the task of building bridges between science and art.

 is designer, with a degree in fashion from the University of Kingston, possesses a thor-

ough command of design, as evidenced by her being named the most innovative designer

of 1991 and her nomination as the best British designer by the British Fashion Council.

Her passage from the material of fashion to biological fabric can be understood as a glori-

ous evolutionary step, a path toward the disintegration of frontiers.

Photography courtesy of Helen Storey

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Helen Storey

Image and sketch of the Double DNA

Dress. Helen Storey carried out this

series in collaboration with her sister,

Dr. Kate Storey, the London College of

Fashion and her vivid gaze through the

microscope.

Sketch courtesy of Helen Storey

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Helen Storey

Photography by Justine/model: Korinna (Models 1)

224

Helen Storey

- Reading about your career, there seem to be two Helens: the fashion entrepreneur with her own brand and the current

researcher. What remains of the fi rst one?

 e “fashion entrepreneur” thought she should try and contribute more to the world than frocks!

- You mention casual encounters as key moments in the development of your career. How much has luck played a part

in the progress of your career?

I’m not sure luck has played a signifi cant part in my career. Looking back, sheer hard work has been at the heart of

it. If I had to identify luck in one place, however, it would be meeting my business partner, Caroline Coates, some

twenty-three years ago. Ours is an extraordinary relationship and has made my career path a deeply human experience,

allowing me to follow and “chance” my instinct and creative ambition beyond where I may have ever gone alone. More

often, I’d say luck in general hasn’t been around, and a lot of what other people might perceive as progress—artistic or

otherwise—has been delivered through the mastery of misfortune. But then again, for anything to retain my interest,

there has always got to be something that requires fathoming, or mastering—something must be improved somehow.

It’s a lot more than the experience of creating alone.

- What is your dream as a designer?

To try to contribute to human advancement in some way.

- What is your dream as a researcher?

As above.

- Fashion has always refl ected a certain era. What does fashion refl ect in the twenty-fi rst century?

Uncertainty.

- What are you currently researching?

Ways in which to capture solar energy and deliver it in new ways, how to bring scientifi c, technological and artistic

philanthropy into collaborative being for good purpose.

Helen Storey

19 Shuttleworth Road

London SW11 3DH

United Kingdom

www.helenstoreyfoundation.org

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Helen Storey

Sketch courtesy of Helen Storey