The Breathless Collection

The Brill Building Launches “The Breathless Collection” To Boost Lung Cancer Symptom Awareness For The Marie Keating Foundation.

This International Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the Marie Keating Foundation unveils its most powerful and thought-provoking initiative yet–The Breathless Collection–a capsule collection of clothes and accessories designed to replicate the early symptoms of lung cancer. The leading cancer charity focused on early diagnosis and survivorship hopes the provocative education-based approach will encourage people not to ignore warning signs such as breathlessness, fatigue, or a persistent cough or a change in cough lasting more than three weeks.

A central element of the campaign is The Making of The Breathless Collection–a short film that takes audiences behind the scenes as lung cancer researchers, survivors and creatives collaborate to design the garments. The film reveals the craft, care and intention behind each piece–illustrating how creativity and compassion can combine to drive awareness and change.

Lung cancer still takes more lives in Ireland than any other cancer, across both men and women. While advances such as immunotherapy and personalised treatments are improving outcomes, early detection remains the key to saving lives. The five-year net survival rate for lung cancer in Ireland is just 24%, and while this has been slowly improving in recent years thanks to new treatments, awareness of symptoms remains worryingly low.

The Breathless Collection features bespoke garments and accessories–including a gilet, scarf, tote bag, shoes and coffee keep-cup–each designed to physically replicate the hidden weight, restriction and exhaustion that people with lung cancer may experience before diagnosis. Weighted fabrics and shoes as well as constrictive tailoring mirror symptoms too often dismissed as the toll of everyday life or aging.