Mushroom-made bio clothes are fashionable fungi
An exhibition has opened in the Capital showing how fungi could be the future of fashion – with mushrooms-made clothes.
Edinburgh-based artist Emily Raemaekers has used a range of biomaterials, including mushrooms and vegetable waste, as inspiration for an innovative garment being displayed at the National Museum of Scotland.
Edinburgh Science Festival – this year celebrating its 35th anniversary – got underway at the weekend with the theme of Shaping the Future.
One of the key exhibitions at the National Museum is Growing Home, exploring the past and future of materials and how biomaterials – like fungi – can be used for fashion, engineering and more.
Part of this special exhibition is Symbio, featuring a garment created by Emily using mycelium materials and leather made from vegetable processing waste in combination with cutting edge environmentally-friendly fabrics.
Her creation is adorned with elaborate laser cut designs inspired by mycelium structures, hand carved lino print patterns and featuring plant-derived biomaterial dyes.
The piece helps to highlight some of the key issues in the fashion industry today, with textile dyeing being the second largest polluter of water globally.
Many designers are now exploring natural dyes derived from plants, invertebrates, and minerals traditionally used by many cultures around the world. Although it is more difficult to produce consistent tones from natural dyes, this variation can be embraced as an aesthetic choice as part of the Slow Fashion movement.
Emily, who studied Performance Costume Design at Edinburgh College of Art before working as a freelance Costume Designer in the Scottish theatre and film industry, is now an events planner, blending creativity and the arts with science.
As a designer she has explored the properties of a range of biomaterials, using a variety of construction methods.
The base of her dress is made from Tencel(TM), a type of lyocell — a fibre made from wood pulp.
As the raw material is responsibly forested wood, the textile originates from a renewable source.
Many designers are now exploring natural dyes derived from plants