Can you grow clothes? Enter the great biofabrication laboratory, in the company of Sabrina Maroc, met at the Avantex trade show which took place at Le Bourget, last  September. The founder of Open BioFabrics, a structure dedicated to biofabrication applied to fashion, explains to Le Boudoir Numérique how it is possible “to use bacteria, yeasts, fungi or algae to create new materials, fabrics and dyes".

By Ludmilla Intravaia

Le Boudoir Numérique : What’s Open BioFabrics ? 

Sabrina Maroc, founder of Open BioFabrics : Our structure dedicated to biofabrication was born in France in 2015. We started with experimentation on the bacterial cellulose culture, as carried out by the pioneering biodesigner Suzanne Lee. We have developed research and development on new biotechnologies and collaborated with artisans to determine how it could be adapted to ancestral know-how, while sharing our knowledge, in open-source, in a collaborative mode. Very quickly, we realized that, outside the scientific world, biofabrication was still unknown to the general public. We therefore reoriented ourselves towards promoting it to people who want to discover how it can be applied to the fashion sector. Today, we are highlighting the work of biodesigners, biotechnology companies and biohacking communities by publishing the latest news on our social networks and by hosting events such as “Biofabrication in fashion” space at Avantex. We organize workshops in art, engineering or design schools to introduce students to this subject and allow them to experiment. We also intervene in companies to keep them informed on what exists, in the field of biotechnologies.

What is biofabrication ? 

It is the culture of materials with living cells. This recent discipline appeared in the late 2000s, in the biomedical research field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Over the past ten years, biofabrication has grown a lot, thanks to a drop in the cost of equipment and the improvement of techniques that have become more efficient. At the intersection of biology, design and technology, it is now in full swing, especially in the fashion industry, where it consists in using bacteria, yeasts, fungi or algae to create new materials, fabrics and dyes.

You were talking about the pioneer Suzanne Lee… 

This British biodesigner has developed the BioCouture project, now closed, whose mission was to grow clothes made of bacterial cellulose, from kombucha strains (see below, AN).

With the American company Modern Meadow, specializing in the production of collagen proteins, she developed the bio-printed Zoa leather technology, from which a T-shirt was exhibited at Moma, in New York, in 2017 (see below, AN). This T-shirt has no seams, the panels are joined by Zoa technology liquid leather.

Watch Zoa video below.

Suzanne Lee is now focusing on her Biofabricate project and, in particular, the annual summit of the same name on biofabrication that she created in 2014.

Can one create materials, from algae, for instance ?

Absolutely. As part of her research work "An Ocean full of Opportunities", the German biodesigner Carolyn Raff used algae to make biodegradable biopolymers, which she cuts into different shapes, to create decorative flowers, for example (see below, AN).

The Dutch studio Nienke Hoogvliet, too, works with algae and materials from wastewater, with which he dyed his Kaumera kimono (see below, AN).

Watch a video on Kaumera kimono below.

Can we say that biofabrication is part of a sustainable fashion approach, respectful of sentient beings and the environment ?

For most projects, yes, it promotes it, the aim being to create materials with the lowest possible environmental impact. If we take the case of current dyes, they come from petrochemicals. Biofabricated dyes are made with glucose-fed bacteria, which generates less pollution. The French company Pili produces ecological dyes with bacteria growing at room temperature, consuming less fossil energy. Ultimately, using agricultural waste to feed these bacteria would be beneficial to circular fashion. Led by designers Laura Luchtman and Ilfa Siebenhaar, the Living Colors project consists in growing bacteria pigments directly on the fabric, as an alternative to toxic synthetic dyes (see below, AN).

Watch the video Living Colors below.

Finally, the German company ScobyTec, which produces bacterial cellulose, for example, to make bags, is cruelty free and vegan, since its materials can replace traditional leather, without animal exploitation (see below, AN). And this is just the start, exploring the field of future possibilities is just beginning.

* Websites of companies, projects and brands mentioned in this Boudoir Numérique paper : Open Biofabrics, Modern Meadow, Biofabricate, Carolyn Raff Studio, Studio Nienke Hoogvliet, Pili, Living Colors, ScobyTec.

* Deepen your research on biofabrication with the following books : 

- “What's Your Bio Strategy ? : How to Prepare Your Business for the Age of Synthetic Biology” by John Cumbers and Karl Schmieder, Pulp Bio Books, 2017, 192 pages.

- “Bio Design : Nature - Science – Creativity” by William Myers and Paola Antonelli, Museum of Modern Art, 2018, 304 pages.

- "Seaweed research” by Studio Nienke Hoogvliet, 2016, 100 pages (in sale here).

* The next edition of Avantex, the high-tech and innovative textile trade fair, will take place at Le Bourget, from February 10 to 13, 2020. More information on the event website here.

* Continue reading on the biofabrication subject with this Boudoir Numérique papers :

- "Fashion tech at La fabrique du vivant exhibition”.

* Interview of Tony Jouanneau, French biodesigner, creator of Atelier Sumbiosis, who won the public's award, during Fashion Tech Week 2019, last October.