In the movie, The Chronicles of Riddick, the character "Dame Vaako" did one thing exceptionally well: She made the bony vertebrae of the spine look sexy. Each of her elaborate costumes featured an "exospine," believed by the Necromonger race to represent strength and purification. In reality, spines contain rigid and resistant components that fulfill a set of functional roles including protection, excretion, sensing, support, and feeding. The spinal cord is also the main pathway for information connecting the brain and peripheral nervous system. So, maybe the Necromongers were actually onto something (even if it's a little too science fiction for my taste).

Dame Vaako in The Chronicles of Riddick

But, putting all function aside, is there really any room for the spine in fashion? UK-born, Lebanese designer Ronald Abdala would answer with an unequivocal "yes." When he set out to create his fall 2008 collection, he wanted to create pieces that would redefine the usual morbid associations people have with skeletal structures. Other designers, like Rachel Wright, have taken a slightly different approach. Wright's "Dream Anatomy" series explores the imagined realms inside the body. In her creations, the boundary between the internal and the external are blurred, thereby allowing us to wear our insides on the outside. A little macabre, perhaps. But if you try to imagine the catwalk as the spine, the fashion designer as the brain, and fashion enthusiast as the heart, the concept of "stylish anatomy" seems a little more palatable ;)

Ronald Abdala, Fall 2008

Scapular Art Dress by Rachel Wright

Ronald Abdala, Fall 2008

Roger Vivier 'Spine' Shoe

Spine Tee by Reborn

Pneuma Art Dress and Circulation Art Dress by Rachel Wright

Butterfly Spine Necklace by Laura Bezant

Photo by Logan Antill

Spine Tank Top by Rachel Wright

Spine Necklace by Anne Jones

Birds of Prey Hoodie by Fluffyco

Vertebrae Necklace by Molly Epstein