Empowering Emerging Designers
YKK is proud to partner with emerging fashion designers who are redefining materials and storytelling through design. This feature highlights one such talent whose senior collection transforms YKK® zippers into expressive, sculptural elements that reflect her unique creative vision.
Macromorphosis: A Scientific Lens on Fashion
Melina McCullough, a recent Fashion Design graduate from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), brings a scientific lens to fashion with her collection Macromorphosis, inspired by a vibrant, intricate world of cellular biology. Her designs translate microscopic imaginary into wearable art, merging science and style in unexpected ways.
“Growing up, biology was my favorite subject in school,” she shared. “I found the microscopic imagery of cells so interesting—the bright colors, the textures, all of it. I wanted to really bring that microscopic imagery to life in a very wearable form.”
Her designs—a shirt, a skirt, and a dress—incorporate YKK® zippers artistically. The zippers trace winding, twisting patterns across the fabric, catching light and adding movement to the designs.
“I used YKK® zippers more as a decoration, a trim to create winding, twisting patterns and make my garments really sparkle and shine under light.” she explained.
For Melina, zippers became more than fasteners—they became a design language. She used them to abstractly represent DNA strands and cellular structures, turning technical components into storytelling tools.
“I’ve always envisioned DNA and a lot of cell parts as zippers,” she shared. “Being able to use zippers to show those in a very abstracted way was so helpful to bring my ideas to life and communicate what I had envisioned in my mind”
The collaboration with YKK played a pivotal role in her creative process. Melina found the zippers easy to manipulate and integrate, allowing her to experiment freely with structure and form.
“They were so encouraging every step of the way and really made me feel like I could realize my vision,” she said. “The high quality of the products also made the process smoother. The zippers were flexible, reliable, and adaptable to whatever I needed in my designs.”
Melina’s Macromorphosis is a celebration of creativity, science, and storytelling—proof that inspiration can come from even the smallest details of life, and that fashion can be a powerful medium for reimagining the invisible.
Check out Melina’s full collection on Instagram: @melina_makes_art
