Rosie Broadhead designs clothing that’s literally alive. The textile designer and founder of Skin Series is pioneering probiotic fabric that interacts with your skin’s microbiome — releasing good bacteria to support renewal and balance. Now she’s researching how water alters the body’s chemistry, from wastewater to trace materials we drink, asking: can the fabric we wear repair those loops?

What do you do when you hit a creative block?

Create a dialogue. I try to look beyond my immediate discipline, understanding, and field of expertise. This could mean collaborating with microbiologists, water engineers, or architects. It helps to engage in new ways of thinking and experimenting.

What was the last film you watched that moved you deeply?

November (2017), directed by Rainer Sarnet. A mythical village uses magic, love potions, and folk remedies to survive winter and outwit the Black Death.

What book have you gifted most?

Ursula K. Le Guin, The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction.

What’s the last article you sent to a friend?

Why Do Witches Ride Brooms? Ointments used in hallucinatory rituals couldn’t be consumed orally; they had to be absorbed through the skin. The most receptive areas were the sweat glands of the armpits… and other mucous membranes. Thus, the broomstick became both a surface and a portal.

What is your forever inspo?

Issey Miyake’s A Piece of Cloth (1997), which involved creating a continuous knitted tube of fabric from which customizable garments could be cut — reducing waste and rethinking mass production in fashion. One of the first, alongside Hussein Chalayan, to investigate the relation between materials, body, and technology.

Find Rosie on Cosmos and Instagram.