About
VIRION — a single virus particle. Are viruses alive? Or are they something older than life — something stranger, alien, primordial. Viruses are complex structures forged of acids and amines; simpler than cells, yet strikingly mechanical. These incredible machines shape our world and our lives, often in ways unseen or unexpected. With complexity comes beauty — and balance. Virion is a streetwear brand founded by microbiologists with a passion for sharing the unseen world. Our designs are based on real viruses known as "phages". Phages infect bacteria only, not people, and are generally considered "the good viruses". Each graphic is illustrated in-house using real scientific data, capturing the true structure and scale of these curious little critters. Our designs all connect back to the science: you can read more about your favorite phage design on it's product page. Learn about the virus's structure , research relating to the virus, and how it can be used for good in our future.
Inspiration Behind Virion
I started VIRION out of love of the game; out of passion and love of phages. Ever since I embarked on my first phage structural project in 2021 I was hooked.
Throughout my PhD I came to understand protein science and virology. As my understanding improved in both areas, so did the depth of my passion and appreciation for bacteriophages. I see these incredible, ancient machines as art; statues; artifacts, carved through time by evolution. Each individual VIRION represents a depth of evolution outside of human comprehension. Every protein, every kink and turn in its peptide chain, selected over a truly unfathomable number of generations. And what these ancients can do; their dynamic, seemingly engineered mechanical complexity, encoded purely in the three-dimensional structure of the infinitely jittering protein makeup, blows me away every single day.
But phages aren't just beautiful; they might just change the world. The scurge of antibiotic resistance will be a substantial burden to humanity in the future. Bacteriophages however, represent an extremely exciting antibiotic alternative for treating infections. As these viruses kill bacteria, the scientific community is rapidly and enthusiastically working on "phage therapies", leveraging the natural lack of infectivity in humans, as well as their selective ability to kill only desired harmful bacteria. There is much work to be done, and this is not my area of research, but I hope that VIRION will increase peoples awareness of what bacteriophages are, and their potential for bettering our future.
To any bacteriophage researchers; please reach out through our contact page if you would like to organize collaborations or fund-raising opportunities through apparel sales.
Thank you for your time.