Alejandro Luna

Biography

Dr Alejandro Luna is a transdisciplinary artist, researcher, and educator working across biodesign, fashion and textile innovation, and sustainability transitions. Trained as a biologist and plant taxonomist, he approaches classification and living systems not as fixed categories but as ways of making the world — a stance that shapes how his practice translates biological and ecological thinking into materials, systems, and cultural narratives.
At Central Saint Martins, he teaches on the MA Biodesign and contributes to the Living Systems Lab, developing design-led research that integrates living materials, bio-receptive systems, and regenerative approaches. His teaching connects biological knowledge to material and spatial design, guiding students through research-led projects at the intersection of living systems, fashion, and textiles.

As Research & Development Manager (SME) at UAL's Fashion, Textiles and Technology Institute (FTTI), he leads collaborative R&D between the Institute and industry partners, connecting academic research to material experimentation and new routes to market. This work is closely informed by his artistic practice, developed through Maison Trampoline, a platform for collaborative projects across art, architecture, and biodesign — for Alejandro the art is not an adjunct to the research but its method: a way of asking how we come to know the living world, and what follows from the frames we choose.

He brings experience leading interdisciplinary education and research, including directing the MSc in Science and Technology Policy at the University of Sussex and contributing to sustainability strategy within business education — experience that informs his approach to knowledge exchange and industry engagement. He is also Honorary Lecturer at Imperial College London.

His work spans academic research and practice, with publications in journals including Nature Communications and Science and Public Policy. Working with SMEs, designers, and research partners, he positions design and art as ways of reframing the relationships between science, industry, and the living world.