–Katya Moorman
The world is drowning in plastic — and fashion is one of its biggest culprits. Nearly 70% of global textiles are now made from synthetic fibers derived from fossil fuels, shedding microplastics with every wash and dyed with chemicals that pollute waterways and harm workers.
At the Biofab Fair in London, a different vision was on display. Scientists, engineers, and designers gathered to explore how biology can replace petroleum across industries—from packaging to interiors to fashion. For us at No Kill, fashion is where these innovations become tangible, where science quite literally meets skin.
What exactly are biomaterials?
When we think about biobased materials, it helps to imagine a shift from extracting to cultivating. Instead of digging up oil or shearing animals, these new materials are grown by microbes—tiny living factories fed with sugar and water to spin protein, build cellulose, or even create color. The process looks more like brewing than weaving. It’s biology as design—and it’s redefining what fabric can be.
The program opened with a provocation: What if we treated biology not as a resource, but as a collaborator? From mycelium structures to bacterial color, speakers explored what it means to design with living systems. Desirability and performance now sit alongside sustainability as equal drivers of innovation—a sign that biomaterials are moving beyond the lab and into the language of design.
To understand how close we are to that future, we spoke with Suzanne Lee, CEO and Founder of Biofabricate, the organization behind the fair.
Many biomaterial innovations feel abstract to shoppers. What do you think needs to happen for consumers to understand — and demand — biology-based textiles?
We believe success for biomaterial innovations means integrating into the wider commercial material landscape. Rather than being singled out for their sustainability credentials, which are now just expected, clear storytelling at the point of sale or through digital channels can make biomaterials feel less abstract. Consumers connect emotionally when they understand a material’s story—how it looks, feels, performs—what makes it different. That puts the onus on innovators (and brands) to create distinctive products with strong branding and marketing that consumers will recognize and get behind.
Ten years from now what do you hope to see mainstream fashion brands doing differently because of what’s happening in biomaterials today?
Ten years from now, instead of treating biomaterials like replacements for petrochemical or animal products, we hope fashion brands will celebrate their distinct qualities through design while also improving their environmental impact. The most forward-thinking designers will craft pieces that let consumers fall in love with how nature and innovation can coexist beautifully. –Suzanne Lee
If you had to bet on one material or technology from this year’s Fair to reshape how fashion is made by 2030, what would you choose — and why?
We wouldn’t choose just one material. This would be limiting, as to truly transform fashion into an industry that does good, we need all these innovations to succeed. It’s not about a single material, but about a collective shift toward biological inputs, regeneration, and circularity. If anything, the real game-changer will be the collaboration that connects these breakthroughs into a new ecosystem for fashion.
From mycelium leather to microbial silk, the following innovators are doing exactly that—bringing biology out of the lab and into our wardrobes.
Future Fabrics: Protein and Cellulose Reimagined
Modern Synthesis
The GANNI X Modern Synthesis Bou bag remains one of the strongest proofs that biomaterials can be both innovative and desirable. Though it wasn’t on display at the Fair, another collaboration demonstrated the company’s capabilities: a shoe by the Korvaa Consortium, which merges three pioneering biotechnologies.
For the upper, Modern Synthesis supplied a fabric made from bacterial nanocellulose—a material grown through fermentation and refined into a strong, flexible textile.
Working from their London lab, Modern Synthesis is developing a new class of microbial nanocellulose materials that offer a renewable alternative to animal and petroleum-based leathers. Their approach fuses science and design to create fabrics that are both luxurious and low-impact—an elegant vision of what the next generation of fashion materials can be.
Spiber
Spiber’s Brewed Protein™ is a lab-made fiber that mimics the feel of silk or cashmere—without using animals or fossil fuels. It’s created through a process similar to brewing beer: tiny microbes are fed sugar and nutrients, and with a little bioengineering, they produce protein that’s then spun into thread. The result is a soft, resilient fabric that can be used in clothing and other materials, showing how biology can replace petroleum in the making of textiles.
At the Fair, Spiber introduced two new developments: a protein-based finish with moisture control and static resistance, and a tactile, leather-like surface with a unique molecular texture. Together, they mark a new phase for engineered proteins that merge performance and comfort with low environmental impact.
They also had on display a sweater by Goldwin that is 30% brewed protein fiber and 70% wool.
Gozen
Gozen may already be on your radar from their collaboration with Balenciaga on the Spring 2024 bathrobe — a striking example of how biomaterials are entering luxury fashion’s main stage.
Founded by Ece Gozen in Istanbul, the company bridges biotechnology and craft traditions to create materials that honor both innovation and artistry. Their signature material, LUNAFORM™, is grown through fermentation in just seven days and produced in sheets as large as 13 square feet.
The result is a thin, lightweight textile whose tensile strength rivals that of fine animal leathers. At the Biofab Fair, a LUNAFORM coat resembling a translucent snakeskin trench was on display — a circular design that conveys seduction and luxury.
AMSilk
We were particularly intrigued by Germany’s AMSilk, which engineers biofabricated yarns made from nature-identical silk proteins. The fabric swatches on display were among the most convincing yet — nearly indistinguishable from high-quality synthetics in look and feel.
In conversation, Chief Scientific Officer Gudrun Vogtentanz explained that AMSilk focuses on producing the thread itself, collaborating with customers to develop finished textiles rather than designing them in-house.
She also hinted at what’s next: a dress and blouse made entirely from AMSilk fibers, set to debut this November under a yet-to-be-revealed brand. One of their key advantages is they’re at a point where they can easily scale –always a concern with newer materials.
The company’s recent €52 million investment signals growing confidence that bioengineered silk could become a foundational fiber for the next generation of performance and luxury fashion.
New Embellishments: Biodesign with Beauty
Sequins, beads, and glitter have long been fashion’s tools of adornment — and its hidden pollutants. Two companies at the Fair offered a luminous alternative to plastic sparkle.
Bequin
Developed between Goa and London by Botto Labs and The Stitch Archive, Bequin is a biobased material designed to replace petroleum-based sequins in luxury embroidery.
Created through collaboration between scientists, artisans, and fashion houses, Bequin’s biodegradable sequins prove that embellishment can be both exquisite and environmentally sound.
Recently they collaborated with GANNI on 3D contemporary floral motifs shown here.
cellsense
We’ve been following founder and CEO Aradhita Para since her days as a student at Parsons,through her recognition in the Redesign Everything Challenge and it’s been exciting to watch the continuous evolution of cellsense.
The company uses algae and cellulose to create sustainable beads and beaded fabrics for fashion, jewelry, and beauty. Their system eliminates heavy metals and microplastics while allowing for customizable color and luminosity.
Color, Reimagined
Color is the soul of fashion — but also one of its dirtiest secrets. Two pioneering companies are changing that by turning to biology for brightness.
Sparxell
Sparxell captures nature’s radiance through structural color, replicating the optical effects found in butterfly wings and peacock feathers. Made entirely from plant-based cellulose, their pigments, pearls, and glitters are biodegradable and free from metals or synthetics.
The technology creates sustainable pigments from renewable sources like wood pulp and agricultural waste, marking a significant step away from the harms of conventional dyeing — microplastic and chemical water pollution, water and land depletion, and exploitative labor practices.
They also recently worked with Patrick McDowell, the London-based designer known for his sustainable luxury collections, on two shimmering dresses unveiled this past June — a vivid demonstration of how science and couture are beginning to speak the same language.
Since the Fair, Sparxell has announced a major breakthrough: the world’s first plastic-free, toxin-free, and fully biodegradable reflective pigment, developed in collaboration with the Manufacturing Technology Centre and PANGAIA.
Colorifix
Colorifix redefines textile dyeing by using engineered microbes to produce and fix pigments directly onto fabric. This biological process replaces toxic petrochemical dyes while drastically reducing water and energy use. Already working with major fashion brands, Colorifix is leading the transition to scalable, circular color systems rooted in living science.
The Studio: Speculative Futures
Beyond the main exhibition hall, the Studio showcased the experimental edge of material innovation.
CYTO
Created by designer Karina Frances, CYTO explores cellulose as a regenerative material made from textile waste. Using handcraft processes inspired by papermaking, the material can be dissolved and reprinted, demonstrating how waste fibers might form the basis of new circular fabrication systems.
CYTO invites a rethinking of cellulose as both a design medium and a regenerative infrastructure.
Sympoiesis
Biodesigner Chris Bellamy presented Sympoiesis, a collaboration with Iris van Herpen first unveiled during Paris Haute Couture Week. The couture garment was inhabited by 125 million living bioluminescent algae that responded to touch and movement, transforming it into a gently glowing, living surface.
Developed in partnership with scientists and Indigenous artisans, Bellamy’s work explores the intersection of coral symbiosis, biotechnology, and human imagination — redefining couture as a living, evolving relationship between nature and design.
photo ©MOLLY SJ LOWE, courtesy Chris Bellamy
Designing with Life
The Biofab Fair felt like a preview of a world where fashion aligns with biology instead of battling it. From engineered proteins to shimmering algae, the innovators showcased in London are constructing a future where materials are cultivated, regenerative, and expressive.
Their collective message was clear: the age of extractive fashion is ending. What comes next will be designed with life itself — and the beauty of that partnership may finally redefine luxury for the 21st century.
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