A new campaign by luxury Italian fashion brand Versace about the "hidden beauty" of gold features images captured by a high tech microscope in the University of Antwerp.
Launching the campaign over the weekend, entitled 'Gold: Versace to the Last Atom', the brand noted that it had some "unexpected collaborators" on the project which features images of gold nanoparticles.
Versace's new collection draws on the research of Professor Sara Bals, who investigates gold nanoparticles within the Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT) research group. This group specialises in the study of nanomaterials, right down to individual atoms.
Some images from the 'Gold: Versace to the Last Atom' campaign. Credit: Versace
Professor Bals explained that using an electron microscope allows for detailed mapping of nanoparticle properties. He noted that doctoral students from around the world converge on the Antwerp campus to use the scientific devices.
The EMAT research group were surprised when approached by Versace via a Spanish laboratory in Antwerp, but agreed to supply imagery for the campaign. Other collaborators included laboratories at CIC biomaGUNE (San Sebastián, Spain) and University of Vigo (Spain).
The Versace campaign, according to posts by the brand on social media, aims to "show a hidden side to the metal’s beauty", and an "ornate pattern" to the particles which is also an intrinsic part of Versace's designs.
"Gold, as we know it at a macro level, is an extremely stable material. However, at a nano level, it changes: the gold particles change colour, much like a chameleon. Furthermore, particles of the same shape will arrange themselves, similar to an ancient mosaic," said Professor Bals.
