Playful, interactive post-mastectomy prosthetic

Photo courtesy Stephanie Choplin

Designer Stephanie Choplin

Stephanie Choplin, a young French designer, creates "Lumintact", a new option when women lose a breast due to mastectomy, designed to celebrate a sense of confidence and sexy femininity.  Lumitact is an adhesive, tactile breast prosthesis that integrates Phillips’ Lumalive material into its design. Luminescent shapes continually glide softly over the form. "When the prosthetic is touched", states Choplin, "the shapes slide softly towards the zone touched like the shiver of a caress on the skin"  This is designed to encourage incorporating the prosthetic into lovemaking as a natural extension of the body, as is the extended shape, which was selected as a way to guide a partner's hand to the whole body. The animations are intended to give a sense of life and movement to the prosthetic.

Scott Summit's Feminine chrome and lace design 

Other designers who are exploring prosthetics that are openly techy and a personal fashion statement, include Scott Summit,  with his cyber-cool prosthetic legs, customized for each client and printed using 3D printing technology    Meanwhile model, athlete and amputee, Aimee Mullen, challenges society's assumptions by cheekily considering her twelve pairs of legs as fashion capable of giving her "superpowers'.

Aimee Mullins: Unabashedly sexy on the runway or wearing the running legs that made her a champion