UK Designer Grows Clothes From Bacteria

An anonymous reader writes "Experimental UK designer Suzanne Lee 'grows' clothes from bacteria. She has developed a method for growing clothing from yeast, a pinch of bacteria, and several cups of sweetened green tea. From this microbial soup, fibers begin to sprout and propagate, eventually resulting in thin, wet sheets of bacterial cellulose that can be molded to a dress form. As the sheets dry out, overlapping edges 'felt' together to become fused seams. When all moisture has evaporated, the fibers develop a tight-knit, papyrus-like surface."

Comments

Re:Sure you can wear it, but why would you want to

[corinroyal]

Actually, the material takes dyes very easily. Suzanne's work is dyed and protected from microbial degradation by Kakishiburi which is aged, fermented juice of green persimmons, and a traditional Japanese process.

Re:Sure you can wear it, but why would you want to

[RDW]

'Except that it's not paper, which is usually made from ground-up trees.'

Usually, but not always. Enjoy:

http://www.elephantdungpaper.com/process.html

Re:Sure you can wear it, but why would you want to

[Doc Ruby]

Hemp clothing is for more than just "hippies" (whoever they are). Hemp is a great fiber for textiles, which is why it was used for centuries/millennia. Synthetic fiber corps like Dupont helped create marijuana prohibition because hemp was too competitive with their new products.

Maybe only "hippies" know about that, but the fabric is for everyone. You can't smoke it.