Those Are Fashionable Genes

The building block of life, DNA, is getting a life of its own. "Spit parties" have become the latest social-networking craze, like the one recently organized by 23andMe, a genetic-testing company named for the number of chromosome pairs in the human genome and founded by Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki, wife of Google cofounder Sergey Brin. Combining genetic testing with gin and tonics, friends and family compare congenital predispositions by sharing test results ($399; 23andme.com). Hereditary blueprints can also be turned into personalized perfumes and colognes ($135; mydnafragrance.com). For a perfectly accurate self-portrait, humans can map their—or their pets'—genetic coding in one-of-a-kind works of art that resemble columns of blocks ($550; momastore.org), or place it on canvas, sheet aluminum or photographic paper ($720; dna-art.co.uk). Lanvin cufflinks depict the magic molecule ($130; cufflinks.com), while Genetic Denim has created men's and women's jeans that are labeled XY or XX ($220; geneticdenim.com). "DNA is the one thing that separates you from every other person in the world," says designer Ali Fatourechi. So why not flaunt it?

© 2008