Graduates consistently offer some of the most forward-thinking designs, and 2019 didn't disappoint. To continue our review of the year, we picked 10 of the most innovative student projects, from a "chestfeeding" kit to a masturbation suit.

Ripple masturbation suit by Hsin-Jou Huang, Szu-Ying Lai and Chia-Ning Hsu

Three graduates from Taiwan designed this Ripple sex aid kit – comprising a bodysuit, a mask and a remote control – to address the "ignored" subject of helping people with disabilities fulfil their sexual needs.

Parts of the suit gradually inflate to put pressure on certain body parts that simulate the feeling of human touch. Other stimulations include vibration, for women, and pressure in the genital area for men.

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A Solution for Man-Spreading by Laila Laurel

This pair of chairs by Brighton University graduate Laila Laurel is a playful response to women's experiences of "manspreading".

Designed to prevent the "frustrating" action, one of the chairs forces the user to sit with their legs together, while the other encourages the sitter to take up more space by parting their legs.

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Chestfeeding kit by Marie-Claire Springham

Central Saint Martins graduate Marie-Claire Springham developed a hormone kit this year that allows fathers to lactate so that they can help breastfeed, or "chestfeed", their child.

The kit includes a breast pump, a compression vest and hormones that change the breast tissue so that milk can be stored. Springham believes that it could benefit both sexes – reducing pressure on new mums while preventing dads from feeling left out.

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Soapack by Mi Zhou

Mi Zhou used vegetable oil-based soap dyed with natural plant pigments to create this collection of toiletry bottles, which melt away once they reach the end of their life.

Called Soapack, the bottles are formed in a mould in a process similar to slip-casting ceramics. A thin layer of beeswax is used to line the bottles to make them waterproof, and prevent the liquid contents from dissolving the bottles before they are used up.

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Re[...] or Die by Laura Kraup Frandsen

Instead of a final clothing collection for her RCA graduate show, fashion student Laura Kraup Frandsen staged a "die-in" demonstration with the help of 20 Extinction Rebellion members, as a protest against overproduction and overconsumption in the climate crisis.

With no physical collection to show, Frandsen instead represented her final project by displaying a mound of textile waste that had accumulated in her university's fashion studio over the past two to three months with the words "THIS IS NOT WASTE" printed above.

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The Body as Material by Karoline Vitto

Brazilian fashion graduate Karoline Vitto designed a collection of cloth and metal-wire garments that accentuate rather than hide the rolls and curves of the female form.

According to the designer, each garment acts as a representation of an area she used to be self-conscious about. Vitto saw the project as a way of celebrating the parts of our bodies that we typically consider as "flaws".

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Self-sanitising door handle by Sum Ming Wong and Kin Pong Li

University of Hong Kong students Sum Ming Wong and Kin Pong Li aimed to offer a more effective germ-cleaning solution this year with their self-sanitising door handle.

Made up of a glass tube with metal caps at each end, the design is covered in a photocatalytic coating made from a mineral called titanium dioxide, which is able to decompose bacteria via a chemical reaction that is activated by UV light.

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Balloon dresses by Fredrik Tjærandsen

Central Saint Martins fashion graduate Fredrik Tjærandsen sent models down a runway wearing giant inflated rubber spheres that formed bubbles around their bodies and heads, which deflated into dresses and skirts as they walked.

Outfits included a yellow balloon that morphed into a shift dress with an inflated skirt, a black rubber garment with two giant inflated banana-shaped sleeves, and a skintight blue rubber leotard with inflated blue armbands.

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An Egg Without a Chicken by Annie Larkins

Central Saint Martins graduate Annie Larkins developed a playful, egg-free alternative to chicken eggs using pea protein, salt and algae-derived acid, as a response to a high demand for the food.

While she tried to stay true to the original egg's form, with a white and a yolk, Larkins altered the food's typical shape by elongating them or moulding them into cubes.

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Breathe by Miles Kilburn

This smart garment designed by Loughborough University graduate Miles Kilburn offers a safer and more comfortable way of chest binding for transgender men and non-binary people.

Breathe is woven from a smart material in order to allow the user to avoid bad physical side effects, including back and chest pain, rib fractures, rashes, shortness of breath and overheating.

At the push of a button, the tight binder contracts to grant a more relaxed fit without having to find a private place to loosen off the garment.

Find out more about Breathe ›