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The BoF Podcast: Designing With Biology

The fashion industry is exploring ways to incorporate recent advances in biotechnology, from spider silk grown from yeast to liquid leather.
Natsai Audrey Chieza | Source: Getty Images for The Business of Fashion
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OXFORDSHIRE, United Kingdom — Meet the rock star fashion materials of the future: algae, bacteria and fungi.

That’s according to Natsai Audrey Chieza, founder of biodesign consultancy Faber Futures, who spoke at VOICES, BoF’s annual gathering for big thinkers.

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Methods for tweaking cells and organisms have grown so sophisticated and accessible that labs increasingly collaborate with designers - from architects to fashion creatives - to dream up new uses for the technology.

According to Chieza, the key to speeding along development of innovative new materials is to bring designers into the process as early as possible. More education is also needed to convince consumers and executives that lab-grown fabrics are the future.

“All of these things are going to turn into one cacophony of hopefully ecological plenty,” Chieza said.

To contact The Business of Fashion with comments, questions or speaker ideas please e-mail podcast@businessoffashion.com.

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