MYCO ROOM: The future embodiment of mycelium

Material futures

When we think of fashion, we don’t usually think about biology, but in recent years both biology and design have come together to play an important role in the development of this industry as it aims to become more sustainable. For example, it is estimated that the fashion industry is responsible for 2-8% of greenhouse gas emissions and many of these emissions come directly from the leather industry.

Lab grown materials

With the increasing popularity of fungi worldwide in recent years and the rise of sustainable material alternatives from fungal mycelium, the vision of this project is to show the potential of biotechnology for the making of leather-like alternatives to animal and petroleum-based leather. Visitors will have the opportunity to see, smell, and touch material samples and experience the use of this material in clothing and accessories prototypes.

Project inspiration

“The Myco Room” project is inspired by cyber noir (also known as tech noir). It envisions a dark, yet computer-driven future and a material world where technology and biology are intertwined. The prototypes act as tangible objects in the context of future-driven fashion where unusual forms and shapes help to reveal the versatility of this material and possible design uses in a very dynamic manner.

This project seeks to explore critical thinking as a process to imagine the future uses of this material in a world affected by climate change. It also acts as a study to explore the material’s behavior and its compatibility with other design tools and processes. The overall exhibition serves as a futuristic playground for fungi and their role in the future of fashion and beyond.

Values that are central to this project are interdisciplinary collaboration, sustainability, and responsible production and consumption.