BioCouture: Suzanne Lee

Growing Textiles

BioCouture work investigates the use of microbes to grow a textile/ leather type biomaterial. Lee ferments bacteria from a dense layer, as opposed to to chemically exploiting materials. She is essentially using microbes that multiply and feed on waste which creates live, growing bacteria sheets., which she then stitches together to create her design.

The eco-friendly Kimono

This is a method of textile production that is an interesting alternative to using leather or synthetic fibres which produce a huge carbon footprint. Although not yet viable for mass production due to the time it takes to produce the materials and unpredictable usage life, I do think this is an interesting concept to keep an eye out for.

The 'leather' jacket. (My personal favourite)

References & Image sources:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-24/suzanne-lees-biocouture-fashion-grown-from-http://www.designboom.com/design/suzanne-lee-biocouture-growing-textiles/
http://www.yatzer.com/assets/Article/2493/images/vow-8-Bio-Couture-by-Suzanne-Lee-yatzer-4.jpg