Grown Fashion: Animal, Vegetable or Plastic?

Abstract

The observation that clothing provides us with a “second skin” has led some to question if our textiles of the future will be grown, rather than woven, cut, and sewn. This article considers three recent research projects that have addressed the possibility of grown garments through three materially and conceptually distinct approaches: the Tissue Culture and Art project Victimless Leather uses human and non-human cells; Suzanne Lee's BioCouture project is grown from plant cells; and, most recently, Helen Storey's Wonderland project works with plastics. Through very different means, these projects critique the reality of the textile as a second skin, propose the potential of fashion as a tool for education and self-critique, and offer alternative solutions to the volume of contemporary consumption. As a result, each project can be read as providing challenging suggestions for the materials of our future.

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