When we envision the future of fashion, it's probably in the form of chrome-covered ensembles on an army of chic robots that appear more automaton than organic. But perhaps our sartorial destiny is not quite as stark as some movies would have us believe, especially if Chromat designer Becca McCharen has anything to do with it. Because even though McCharen’s forward-thinking designs are cutting-edge, the technology behind them is rooted in the most basic responses in nature: biomimetics McCharen’s collection was inspired by Robert Irwin’s exhibit at Dia:Beacon — where Irwin separated rooms with sheer, mesh panels and fluorescent tubes. But the Chromat designer's instincts guided her towards a more natural environment.“We were really looking at light in a conceptual art way, but we were also thinking about how light functions in the natural world with biomimicry,” McCharen told Refinery29. “We were thinking about how organisms use light to communicate, protect, and function in all different ways.”Read on for the scoop on how McCharen created her fall 2016 collection, her diverse casting, and how she worked with Intel to bring her futuristic vision to fruition.