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7. BIOFABRICATING MATERIALS

RESEARCH

This week we had incredible presentations by Cecilia Raspanti and Petra Garajova. Cecilia’s lecture gave ALL the information on biomaterials, covering everything you need to know, from foundational knowledge to a variety of companies and designers who can serve as an inspiration. Petra's lecture focused on bio 3D printing. It's a must-watch for anyone interested in pushing the boundaries of material design and research. Highly recommend watching them!

ARTISTS INSPO

BASSE STITTGEN: BLOOD PLASTIC

The work of Basse Stittgen sits at the intersection of design, art, and contemporary material research. His series of objects made entirely from discarded cow blood addresses the often-ignored by-products of the slaughterhouse industry, shedding light on its hidden, resource-intensive realities and our disconnection from the ethics of consumption.

MODERN SYNTHESIS: BACTERIAL LEATHER HANDBAG

London biotech company Modern Synthesis, in collaboration with Danish fashion brand Ganni, created a handbag made from bacterial nanocellulose - leather alternative grown from bacteria, without plastic or petrochemicals. Presented at the Material Matters fair during London Design Festival, the bag uses nanocellulose, grown by feeding bacteria with agricultural waste on a thread framework, producing a fabric that mimics leather's drape but with up to 65 times less greenhouse gas emissions. While the current version contains a plastic microfibre lining, Ganni and Modern Synthesis aim to make a fully biodegradable, cellulose-based model by 2025.

SUZANNE LEE: BIOCOUTURE BOMBER JACKETS

Suzanne Lee is working on growing her own fabrics with a blend of green tea, sugar, and microbes, creating cellulose-based materials without traditional weaving or spinning. By using fermentation to create leather-like sheets that can be dyed naturally, like the indigo “Bio Denim Jacket,” Lee’s approach minimizes waste and redefines eco-friendly fashion.

BALENCIAGA: MYCELIUM LEATHER COAT

Balenciaga designed a black, hooded wrap coat made from Ephea, a bio-based material derived from mycelium - the root structure of mushrooms. Showcased in its Autumn/Winter 2022, sold for €9,000 coat marks Balenciaga's first release with a leather alternative. Created in collaboration with biotech company Sqim, Ephea offers a leather-like texture and feel without synthetic chemicals, making it an eco-conscious choice.

SCARLETT YANG: GLASS-LIKE DRESS FROM ALGEA

Scarlett Yang, alumna of Central Saint Martins, the Royal College of Art, and Imperial College London, created a biomaterial dress from algae extract and silk cocoon protein that can adapt to environmental changes and decompose in water within hours. The dress twists and reshapes with humidity and temperature shifts, while its silk protein accents enable selective creasing. Designed to address fashion waste, Yang’s material leaves no environmental trace, decomposing rapidly in water. For her showcase, she used digital simulations to demonstrate the garment’s transformations, offering a sustainable, nature-integrated vision for future fashion.

BILLIE VAN KATWIJK: COW STOMACH LEATHER

Ventri Leather transforms an often-overlooked by-product of the meat industry—the cow's stomach—into luxurious designer items. Designer Billie van Katwijk's project breathes new life into this undervalued material, which would otherwise be used primarily for dog food in the Netherlands. The designer hopes that the allure of these pieces will spark awareness and conversation about the potential of overlooked materials, shifting perspectives on sustainability and resourcefulness in design.

VENIA COLLECTION: FISH LEATHER

Venia Collection embodies luxury with sustainability, using hand-pieced, up-cycled fish leather sourced responsibly from the food industry. This unique leather is vegetable tanned and dyed, enhancing its natural texture while maintaining eco-conscious production practices. The jacket also features contrasting rib-knit underarm panels, locally crafted in Los Angeles, adding flexibility and comfort. Finished with a sleek cotton lining, the piece exemplifies artisanal craftsmanship, blending responsible sourcing and refined design to create sophisticated, everyday wear that’s both luxurious and sustainable.

YURII KASAO: JELLYFISH LEATHER

Japanese designer Yurii Kasao combines traditional and modern techniques to create culturally refined, sensitive designs. Inspired by the environmental impact of jellyfish overpopulation, she developed Jellyfish Leather - a biodegradable material made from resource that often goes to waste. This sustainable leather alternative can be cut, sewn, and molded like cow leather, turning a nuisance into a valuable, eco-friendly material. With degrees from Tama Art University and the Royal College of Art, Yurii now works at Yamaha Design Laboratory, merging craftsmanship with sustainability.

TINA GORJAC: ALEXANDER'S MCQUEEN'S DNA TURNED INTO HUMAN LEATHER

Central Saint Martins graduate Tina Gorjanc’s project, Pure Human, envisions leather accessories made from skin grown using the DNA of the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Using McQueen's genetic material from his first collection, Jack the Ripper Stalks His Victims, which included locks of his hair, Gorjanc proposed a process to extract the DNA, culture it into skin tissue, and transform it into "human leather" for items like bags and jackets. Designed to question the protection of biological information, Gorjanc filed a patent in 2016, showcasing how minimal legal barriers exist around commercializing human genetic materials.

JACOB OLMEDO: GRASS GARMENTS

Jacob Olmedo, a Parsons graduate, offers a fresh perspective with his thesis collection, And The World Will Be As One, where neutral-toned garments are embedded with live wheatgrass, merging fashion with nature and encouraging environmental awareness through design. Inspired by nature and environmental philosophy, Olmedo’s work redefines fashion systems by examining every step—from material sourcing to garment lifecycle.

HUMAN MATERIAL LOOP: WOOL-LIKE, HUMAN HAIR SWEATHER

Dutch startup Human Material Loop is revolutionizing the fashion industry by transforming human hair, typically seen as waste, into a sustainable textile. Co-founded by Zsofia Kollar, the company has developed prototypes including sweaters, blazers, and even insulated jackets made from human hair sourced from salons** in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. By spinning short hair into yarn and dyeing it, Human Material Loop creates a wool-like fabric that retains heat, proving both durable and eco-friendly. Historically, human hair has been used as a textile across various cultures, yet there remains a taboo around its use. While Human Material Loop aims to overcome these challenges, Kollar believes the public’s perception could shift, recognizing human hair as a sustainable, valuable resource rather than mere waste.

CRISTINA DEZI: MENSTRUAL BLOOD BIOMATERIALS

Cristina Dezi is a queer artist and designer whose work merges feminist critique with experimental biomateriality and wearable technology. By blending textile innovation, biohacking, and sexual technology, she challenges societal taboos and stigmas around sexuality and pleasure. Cristina is a co-founded "Bruixes_Lab", lab exploring kinky biotechnology, transfeminism, and DIY practices, creating a space for radical experimentation at the intersection of art, science, and activism. Her GitLab can be found here

AMANDA JARVIS: GELATIN SEQUINS

Amanda Jarvis, alumna of Fabricademy, crafted sequins from biomaterials. She looks into the history of gelatin-based sequins and experiments with alginate and gelatin bioplastics.

FABRICADEMY: SAMPLES

FabLab in Barcelona has a wide variety of samples, each with its own recipe, making it incredibly convenient to access all this information.

ALL U NEED

TOOLS

    𖡎 Pots
    𖡎 Measuring cups
    𖡎 Spoons
    𖡎 Silicone spatula
    𖡎 Scale
    𖡎 Bowls
    𖡎 Containers
    𖡎 Tape
    𖡎 Marker
    𖡎 pH testers
    𖡎 Casts

BIOMATERIALS: 3D PRINTING

𖡎 Cellulose 
𖡎 Glycerine 
𖡎 Orange and Avocado dust
𖡎 Calcium Carbonate
𖡎 Water

𖡎 Bowl 
𖡎 Hand Mixer
𖡎 3D Printer

𖡎 Measure 
𖡎 Add, combine, mix
𖡎 Let it sit overnight
𖡎 Put to extrude
𖡎 Turn 3d printer on and connect to pc
𖡎 Set the file on Cura
𖡎 Take the file to repetier
𖡎 Print
𖡎 Let it air dry

BIOMATERIALS: CRAFTED

BIOYARN

    𖡎 Measure everything
    𖡎 Make mix 1: Alginate + Glycerol
    𖡎 Mix the two while being careful of making bubbles
    𖡎 Make mix 2: water + calcium chloryde
    𖡎 Divide if you want to color
    𖡎 Load a syringe with mix 1
    𖡎 Unload continously the syringe with mix 1 into mix 2
    𖡎 DO NOT TOUCH THE MIX WITHOUT GLOVES
    𖡎 Rinse the yarn in the water

AGAR AGAR

    𖡎 Measure everything
    𖡎 Put the agar agar with glycerine and water
    𖡎 Mix
    𖡎 Cast
    𖡎 Waterproof fabric for base
    𖡎 Pour it
    𖡎 Let it air dry

BIOMATERIALS: LIVING

KOMBUCHA: TEA

  • 𖡎 Boil the tea
  • 𖡎 Put the tea into a growth bowl with distilled water
  • 𖡎 Check the pH
  • 𖡎 Cut a piece of the mother SCOBY
  • 𖡎 Put the mother into the tea mix
  • 𖡎 Cover the growth bowl with fabric
  • 𖡎 Let it rest and don't move it for a minimum of a month

KOMBUCHA: BEER

    𖡎 Put the beer into growth bowl with disteled water
    𖡎 Add sugar and vinegar
    𖡎 Check the ph
    𖡎 Cut a piece of the mother (scoby)
    𖡎 Put the mother into the beer mix
    𖡎 Cover the growth bowl with fabric
    𖡎 Let it rest and don't move it for minimum a month

KOMBUCHA: WINE

    𖡎 Put the wine into growth bowl
    𖡎 Add sugar and vinegar
    𖡎 Check the ph
    𖡎 Cut a piece of the mother (scoby)
    𖡎 Put the mother into the wine mix
    𖡎 Cover the growth bowl with fabric
    𖡎 Let it rest and don't move it for minimum a month

MYCELIUM

    𖡎 Sterilize everything (tools, lab, even the materials)
    𖡎 Put the materials in autoclave bags (these ones doesn't melt)
    𖡎 Pour aprox. 4 ml of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker
    𖡎 Pressure cook the straw for 40 minutes
    𖡎 Pressure cook the tools for 20 minutes
    𖡎 Take out the materials always being careful of contamination
    𖡎 Make small pieces of mycelium
    𖡎 Put the materials (straw, mycelium, distiled water, xanthan gum, fluor and sawdust) into a bowl
    𖡎 Mix everything with your hands but using gloves and always sterilizing with alcohol before touching the mycelium
    𖡎 If the mix is still too dry, add a bit more of water
    𖡎 Pour the mix into casts
    𖡎 Press the mix into the cats
    𖡎 Cover all of it with foil making sure its tight
    𖡎 Leave it into a dark room and wait