By Kat Reeder
As a designer, I’ve always been inspired by craftsmanship—my grandmother taught me how to sew and about textiles. In my work, I have worked with materials as diverse as bacteria and algae plants. Over the last several years, as Ecovative’s design specialist, I’ve been working with designers who are experimenting with mycelium textiles to produce footwear and handbags.
It’s been exciting to see mycelium materials being used in fashion, for packaging and car interiors. But there is a learning curve - mycelium is not leather. It’s an entirely new textile and at Forager by Ecovative, we’re in a period of experimentation with designers as we develop ways to work with the material.
Fashion is also having a real ‘return to craft’; this awaited industry reorientation coincides nicely with our recent collaboration with London-based sustainable luxury fashion designer Patrick McDowell. McDowell is sourcing our advanced mycelium to create high-concept, limited-edition couture pieces.
It’s good to work with designers with textile backgrounds and our collaboration with Patrick McDowell is bringing our collaborations to the next level.
McDowell was an early pioneer in using sustainable fabrics and upcycling clothes. “When I started working in the fashion industry,” says McDowell, “ I was shocked about the waste level. I grew up as a working-class kid with no option to waste things. Before sustainability was a thing, I was doing it because it made sense, it saved money and it felt like a better way of working. So, when I started my brand six years ago, it felt like the only way to do it.”
In the six years since McDowell started their label, our mycelium materials have become exponentially better and allow for even greater experimentation in fashion. Conny Wittke, the President of Forager by Ecovative says, “We had to adjust the density, thickness and fit of our mycelium materials into into leather tanning infrastructure so that we don’t have to recreate the entire manufacturing process. Forager by Ecovative’s mycelium materials are now more supple and pliable and while not perfect, are on their way to becoming a viable leather alternative.”
We first met McDowell at a fashion innovation incubator in London in 2023 and immediately embarked on a collaboration. Now Patrick McDowell is Ecovative’s Global Design Ambassador and will use this platform to celebrate mycelium and establish a model for a sustainable brand that drives long-term positive change in the fashion industry.
HOW TO WORK WITH MYCELIUM
McDowell’s mycelium debut was their Spring 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection where they took direction from the material itself. “We used a lot of padding in our garments, says McDowell. “I was always looking for padding materials and traditional padding is made from polyester. It was exciting to find a fabric innovation that was 100% natural, grown and used less energy and less water.”
That first show focused on the reconstruction of dance costumes and they partnered with Britain’s oldest dance company Rambert. “The collection was about structure and it was a nice, starting point,” says McDowell. “Inspired by the Rambert archive, we looked at the inside of the garments and exposed what was inside. We showcased canvassing, stitching, and padding. We created padding from mycelium and wrapped it in layers of tulle. So instead of polyester mesh, we created a circular bubble of mycelium for the ballerina’s tutus. Vogue wrote of the show: “With the help of McDowell’s sustainable wizardry, many of the dresses featured upcycled vintage silks sourced from factories in Italy, mycelium padding, and a handful of textiles sourced from within Rambert itself”
Designs for their following collection grew alongside Ecovative's further material advances. This month they introduced the ‘Benoit’ blazer crafted from mycelium textiles at London Craft Week. The piece will travel to the Future Fabrics Expo in London and on to the World Bio Markets at The Hague.
Why a blazer? McDowell says, “We had that blazer shape already, and the mycelium material we were given suited the structure of the design which was fitted like a corset. The mycelium skin had a good structure naturally and it helped with the shape. We could work with the natural way the material behaved to create a piece that worked with it, rather than fought with it.”
FULL CIRCLE
Using high-tech, farmed mycelium for couture pieces is really the definition of a modern return to craftsmanship. While today’s mycelium isn’t perfect, it offers the best naturally grown alternative to leather, uses significantly less water and energy and can be produced at scale.
“It’s a new age version of craft to me — using science in ways to change biology,” says McDowell. “We need to go back to materials that return to earth, are grown in a way that doesn’t use energy and water and doesn’t take oil from the ground.”
McDowells' advice for other designers on how to use the material? “Be open to the idea that material innovation can be a brand new product category and you don’t have to shoehorn material innovation into existing materials we already have. Let the mycelium be ‘itself’. Why try to replicate something that exists (i.e.: leather)? Instead, accelerate the way new material behaves and move away from the idea that mycelium replaces leather. It’s its own thing with its own qualities and amazing properties. So, embrace the differences to leather and do things with mycelium that you can’t get leather to do.”
THE FUTURE
Material advances in Ecovative’s mycelium are iterating rapidly. Recently, over 17 weeks, our Foundry team increased material tensile strength and durability by 30%. We are having these regular breakthroughs with new versions of mycelium materials being created every 2 months. As it compounds, those multiples will get faster and bigger.
For now, McDowell will continue to create case studies for Forager by Ecovative to inspire other designers to use mycelium in more commercial ways. “As Ecovative evolves the material, says McDowell, we’ll continue trialling it with them and exploring new things. It’s important that the material is showcased in fashion spaces, in really desirable garments with great shapes. At this stage of sustainable material innovation, it’s important to engage a wide industry that sees mycelium as a luxury product.”
“To be able to trial these new materials,” they continue, “and have an open dialogue to make the product better is like being part of the production team. It’s really exciting and promising to think about what could be happening in the next 2-3 years.”
