Lizzie Cochran, Epidemia Designs founder, models leggings from her Just Breathe line, biomedical-influenced prints of healthy lung X-rays: Photo by Rasy Ran
Lizzie Cochran, a 2008 Woodrow Wilson High School graduate, is combining her passion for science with fashion and putting it toward a good cause.
Through a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year she raised more than $20,000 to launch a new active wear company, Epidemia Designs. She creates leggings and other fitness apparel that feature prints made from biological images like CT scans, X-Rays, MRIs and beautiful micrographs of deadly viruses.
“With knowledge comes power,” she says. “If we can use [the leggings] to decrease some of the stigma associated with infectious disease and draw some attention to it, then I want that attention to serve a purpose.”
With that in mind, Cochran plans to give back 15 percent of the proceeds to projects and research aimed at decreasing the incidence of preventable disease and expanding access to high-quality health care worldwide. Epidemia Designs is still deciding on which organizations to work with because it hopes to fund specific projects, rather than make general donations, Cochran says.
She came up with the idea while studying for a class last year.
“I took a biology lab, and that’s where I was first exposed to these microscopic images of cells,” she explains. “I thought they looked really cool.”
A few weeks later, she read an article about the history of viral epidemics. Along with the article were colorful pictures that grabbed Cochran’s attention.
“I just thought it was a really interesting juxtaposition,” she points out, “knowing the power of these different viruses — and the often devastating impacts they have — to their appearance.”
A quick internet search revealed beautiful photos of viruses and healthy cells, X-rays, scans and other science-related images. Aside from the aesthetic appeal, Cochran hopes the leggings and other products will start conversations about preventable diseases. She also hopes to encourage young women to pursue science careers.
As an actress turned pre-med student at Columbia University, this is a topic close to Cochran’s heart. She was recently accepted to medical school at UT Southwestern in Dallas.
“Young girls still imagine the sciences as a very masculine field and not something that’s conducive to femininity,” she says. “There’s this concept that you can’t be cool and interested in girly things if you’re also into the sciences, so we wanted to blur that line.”
Apparel from Epidemia Designs will be available later this year. Learn more at epidemiadesigns.com.
