Mycelium Madness: Mushrooms are Taking Over Fashion Fabric
Fungal fabrics: not the best marketing strategy for high fashion brands. When first hearing about mushroom-based bags I simply believed it was a brilliant idea that would go nowhere. But combined with its superb sustainability features and spot-on leather imitation, it has become more and more prominent both commercially and in couture.
(The mycelium-based leather Victoria Bag From Hermes. Photo: Dezeen)
(https://www.dezeen.com/2021/03/18/hermes-mycelium-leather-victoria-bag-mycoworks/ )
The inspiration for such an abstract concept comes from the dire need for textiles with less of a carbon footprint. It is estimated that 10% of total global carbon emissions come from the fashion industry. To put that in perspective, that's more than international flights and maritime shipping combined. So before you criticize celebrities for taking a few private flights a year, look at your wardrobe and count how many pieces of clothing are derived from unsustainable fashion.
Our common enemy, the fast fashion industry (low cost/high volume clothing stores), is the culprit of this crime. It's become easier for consumers financially and logistically to purchase fast fashion. Brands such as Zara, Cotton On, and Mango’s quick turnover of fashion trends make it impossible to resist purchasing. The increase in consumerism since the mid-2000s has squeezed money out of people's pockets and poured toxins into the mouths of oceans and lakes. This is not meant to criticize day-to-day consumers, however it is the companies' social responsibility to make sustainable products and to reduce their carbon footprint.
To make a piece of clothing, grand amounts of energy and resources are used. Depending on the quality (which is honestly minimal in cheap clothing), toxic fabric dyes can contaminate fresh water; something our world is already depleting from. To make things worse, some companies have gone so far as to burn their unsold garments at the end of each season to keep their worth (we are looking at you, Burberry). Many leading brands are at fault as it is challenging for companies to grow without being an enemy to the environment.
Graph showing the increase in annual revenue for top fast fashion brands. Photo: HBS Digital Archive)
That's where fungi-based textiles gain their attraction. How does something as despised as fungi, rotting our foods and creating mold, become the very thing closest to our skin? Given, it isn’t the “rot” that is converted. Mycelium, the network of threads that form a hybrid system below the ground, is the actual content of any “mushroom” material.
Outside of the fashion world, mycelium still retains importance. Mycelia in both aquatic and terrestrial environments help decompose plants. They help increase water efficiency, and nutrient absorption and increase the fractionation of soil. Mycelia are so tiny that one cubic inch of soil containing mycelium could hold enough to stretch 8 miles. All of these functions of mycelia contribute to its mechanical abilities. High compression, mechanical, and bending strength allow versatility in shape and movement. Water absorption confirms mechanical strength, and is additionally biodegradable. Essentially, it won’t disintegrate on you like a paper straw.
Mycoworks, a company based in California, was one of the first to utilize mycelium. In 2013 Sophia Wang, the founder of Mycoworks, collaborated with artistic genius Philip Ross to bring mycelium materials from museum exhibits to commercial products. First simple blocks through molds and biocomposites, Mycoworks became gaining attraction from manufacturers. The possibilities of interior structures and panels with a new textile made mycelium very popular among architects and manufacturers. Years later, during 2020 New York Fashion Week, Reishi Fine Mycelium launches to show its latest material. Faux leather with perfect replication. By inspiring all the designers that were present, mycelium leather became a prominent material in seasons thereafter.
Leather, just like other textiles, leads to toxins that pollute waterways. Processing of leather also increases eutrophication, and excessive richness in water, leading to the suffocation of animals. Hypoxic zones, deforestation, and more, just for that leather coat.
Stella McCartney, an English fashion designer, believes that to give a helping hand to the earth, we should opt out of processing leather. Her mother, Linda McCartney, was an animal rights activist who passed down her dogma. McCartney has spoken out on leather environmental damages, unlike most companies who would rather keep quiet about their effects on the earth. To defend the use of real leather, some companies would say that it is “cheap” to use faux leather. It is also considered lower quality, making it undesirable for fashion brands with high price tags.
Another issue with faux leather is the usage of petroleum when making it, inspiring questions on whether it is better or not to use faux. Even though it is reported to be 24 times less of a carbon footprint than leather from Brazil, McCartney wanted to find the best option. Thankfully, with Mylo’s formula, it became clear their material would be the best solution to an end of leather.
Her brand has gone as far as to create not only bags but shirts and leggings with Mylo Leather. This step in innovation proved that mycelium leather could be used in anything without issues. Though early iterations were “quite stiff,” as McCartney put it, the new Mylo leather became quite a success for both celebrities and fans of the brand alike.
One of the mycelium bustier tops in McCartneys new collection. Photo: Courtesy of Stella McCartney
(https://www.vogue.com/article/stella-mccartney-first-mylo-mushroom-leather-alternative-ready-to-wear)
We can all agree that the Hermès Birkin Bag continuously proves its worth to the fashion world. With prices to the millions and decades waiting for a bag in which you cannot choose the color, Hermès bags keep their worth. One of the reasons for this is their leather. Rare heritage leather combined with the perfect amount of pockets is what gives the bag such a high price tag. So what if the leather used is not actually from a cow, but instead a material you can find in your backyard?
Well, hopefully in the future, we will get a mushroom-based Birkin. But for now, we have a mycelium version of the leather Victoria bag, yet another famous accessory. Unlike Stella McCartney, Hermès wanted leather to have the same care given to any other material. Therefore, the material used was a product of a three-year collaboration with MycoWorks to make the luxury product commercially available.
In Hermès tanneries in France, the sheets are tanned and finished just like regular leather. This process also gets the textile to imitate leather through wrinkling and have the same color gradient over time.
Leather made with reishi mycelium. Photo: Mycoworks
(https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/this-mushroom-leather-is-being-made-into-hermes-handbags/ )
According to MycoWorks CEO Matt Scullin, the material is vegan, biodegradable, and has a lower carbon footprint than animal leather production. My concern is that no data on how beneficial (or less damaging) it is for the environment has been publicly disclosed. What if mycelium leather is like almond milk: good in theory but in actuality it produces the same if not more of a carbon footprint. Hopefully, in the future, the statistics will be released and available to the public.
Another area of concern is whether the effort to introduce mycelium leather by the large luxury brands is purely performative. Hermès still uses animal leather for every other bag, and as they told Business of Fashion that mycelium leather will not be replacing any classic leather goods the company is known for.
But regardless of the true value of mycelium leather, the innovation of sustainable fabric and materials has changed the fashion world for the better. By growing the future of sustainable fashion and reducing the production of cheap fast fashion fabrics, we as a society can combat eutrophication and hopefully reduce the carbon footprint on our environment.
Credits:
https://healthyhumanlife.com/blogs/news/what-is-fast-fashion
https://www.dezeen.com/2021/03/18/hermes-mycelium-leather-victoria-bag-mycoworks/