Well, sort of.
Imagine if we could grow clothing…BioCouture aims to address ecological and sustainability issues around fashion. The BioCouture research project is harnessing nature to propose a radical future fashion vision. We are investigating the use of bacterial-cellulose, grown in a laboratory, to produce clothing. Our ultimate goal is to literally grow a dress in a vat of liquid…
Suzanne Lee, a Senior Research fellow at Central St. Martins is the mastermind behind Bio-Couture. It’s an cross-discipline experiment involving scientists and designers, using cellulose bacteria to create sustainable, minimalist but functional clothing.
The process involves mixing bacteria with yeast and sweetened tea which makes fibres. The fibres get dried out and they form a leathery like substance. Various fruits and vegetables like blueberries and beetroot act as the dyes, by staining the fabrics.
Although seems a bit crazy sci-fi-esque (crazy good, not crazy scary) but could have a really big impact on the fashion and textiles industry.
(Spotted on Bio-Couture)
Katherine Hui is currently the Social site editor at Green Thing, a web-based public service in London that inspires people to lead greener lives through creative content.
Before this, she worked as the Development Manager at Social Innovation Camp, an organization that encourages people to use web and mobile-based technology to mobilise social change. She oversaw 300 ideas submission and helped build 20 prototypes – five of which have gone on to get further funding or investment.
Katherine’s came over to the UK form Canada in 2007 for an MSc program at the London School of Economics. Before arriving in London, she managed a small environmental start-up in Vancouver called the Canadian Climate Change Alliance.
Katherine is football mad. She is a loyal supporter of Arsenal FC, plays for Islington Borough Ladies FC and coaches for Gunners in Islington in her spare time. Her second favourite hobby is kite surfing and she can sometimes be found chasing the wind.
