Biotextile grown by bacteria (Credit: Tom Mannion / modern-synthesis.com)
Modern Synthesis is a London based biomaterial company connecting the dots between biology, material science and design to craft the next generation of biomaterials for the fashion industry. They strive to provide truly sustainable and inspiring cellulose based alternatives to reduce the industry’s dependence on petrochemical-derived materials - without sacrificing its creativity. With microbial weaving they developed a patent pending fabrication process that uses bacteria to “weave” customizable biotextiles and composites. Technically speaking, it's not really weaving, the material is actually grown, using a microbe. More specifically, Modern Synthesis creates a “warp” pattern using robotic yarn or fiber which then bacteria grow material around to create a strong, lightweight biomaterial with boundless customization potential.
This is Grown - Microbial Weaving. (unfortunately the sound is missing)
“There’s a lot we can learn from nature in regards to materials. After all, nature has had 3.8 billion years to perfect the ultimate circular economy, which is life. Perhaps a better understanding of biology could help us rethink our own fabrication systems.”
