Buzz
All over the world, people are rummaging through their old clothes in search of fabric to craft face masks. This new trend has prompted many to reconsider the clothing industry as a whole. Are we damaging the planet by relying on cheap, disposable clothing? Are we exploiting people living in virtual slavery just to save a few dollars on a t-shirt?
As always, designers, artists, and businesses are eager to innovate. Here are ten of the most bizarre and unexpected sources of fabric that you might just find yourself wearing in the future.
10. Spider Silk with a Golden Touch
Silk has long been the epitome of luxury. Since ancient times, it has been traded across continents to those who yearn for its light, smooth feel against their skin. Roman philosopher Seneca believed that wearing silk was almost like wearing nothing at all, so delicate and refined was the silk that arrived in Rome from China. Yet, few stop to question the origins of their silk. Those who wear silk are wearing fabric spun by caterpillars. Insects, often overlooked by the fashion industry, play an essential role here.
Caterpillars aren't the only source of silk. Spider webs, with their intricate designs, are not only fascinating but also crafted from silk that's stretchy and incredibly strong. This silk is perfect for catching prey, but it also makes an excellent material for fabric—if you can gather enough of it.
In Madagascar, people have taken the extraordinary step of capturing Golden Orb Weaver Spiders and harvesting their silk. It took an entire team eight years to gather enough silk from wild female spiders to create a 1-square-meter cape. In total, 1.2 million spiders were needed to produce this cape, so don't expect to see it as a common fabric anytime soon. However, it does boast a stunning golden hue.
9. Sea Silk
If the thought of wearing spider silk gives you the creeps, but you still desire that silky, exclusive texture, why not consider Byssus? Known as sea silk, this fabric was once considered one of the most expensive in the world. Today, only one individual continues the ancient practice of diving to harvest rare clams that produce it.
Pinna nobilis, a large mollusk that can grow up to a meter long, produces the fibers that keep its heavy shell anchored to the seabed. These fibers, which are only about 6cm long, can be carefully spun into cloth by skilled artisans.
In ancient times, sea silk, which was only found in the Mediterranean, was traded as far as China. The rarity of the clams and the challenge of harvesting them made sea silk incredibly expensive. While the wealthy once purchased trousers, coats, or cloaks made from the golden thread, today only a tiny amount of it is produced.
8. Biocouture
If you're concerned about wearing fabrics derived from animals, Biocouture might be the fashion brand for you. Founded by Suzanne Lee, the clothing line uses organisms like bacteria and fungi to grow the fabric. And if you’re worried about the disposable nature of modern fashion, you’ll be glad to know that these clothes can simply be composted once you’re done with them.
Biocouture grows what is described as plant leather by placing bacterial cultures in a carefully controlled environment—a bathtub—and feeding them a specialized diet of green tea. Once dried, colored, and shaped, the resulting garments resemble traditional leather products.
However, this is just the beginning for Biocouture. In the future, they aim to create clothing from living microorganisms. Wearing these clothes would benefit the microorganisms, as they would feed off your bodily secretions.
7. Qmilch
Silk owes much of its value to the rarity of the raw materials used in its creation. However, one entrepreneur has developed a silk alternative made from a material as close as your fridge. Qmilch uses proteins from cow's milk to spin a fine thread that mimics the feel and properties of expensive silk.
Milk-based fabrics have been created before, and milk cotton gained popularity in the 1930s. However, these fabrics were often mixed with acrylonitrile to strengthen the fibers made from milk casein. Other synthetic fabrics eventually replaced them due to consumer preference. Qmilch, however, eliminates these synthetic additives, claiming to be a more environmentally friendly option. Apparently, about a gallon and a half (6 liters) of milk is enough to make an entire dress from Qmilch.
6. Solar Fabric
Have you ever experienced your phone running out of battery because you forgot to charge it? That could soon be a thing of the past if clothing designers begin incorporating solar power technology into their designs.
There are already some clothing items on the market that feature solar panels, designed to charge phones and other electronic devices. These are typically rigid panels that the wearer can cover or uncover to absorb solar energy. Unfortunately, solar panels still have their drawbacks—they're bulky, unattractive, and must be positioned to face the sun for optimal efficiency.
In the future, however, we may see clothing woven from fibers that can directly capture sunlight. Such garments would collect light from any direction and could charge themselves throughout the day. Before such clothes become commonplace, several significant breakthroughs in solar panel technology will be needed. One likely solution is to create miniature panels in the form of small, scale-like structures that could cover the fabric.
5. Old Newspapers
Fashion doesn't always have to rely on high-tech innovations. Sometimes, the most eco-friendly option is simply to recycle—whether that's old clothes or, in this case, something like newspapers.
During the Great Depression, people would stuff their clothes with newspapers to keep warm in the winter. Today, you can hire Italian artist Ivano Vitali to turn discarded newspapers into couture fashion. Since the 1990s, Vitali has been creating both garments and artworks almost exclusively from recycled newspaper.
To create his threads, the artist tears paper into strips, arranges them by color, and then glues them together. This technique utilizes the paper's natural color, eliminating the need for dyes. By twisting the paper, a thick thread can be formed, which can then be knitted into any shape you desire.
4. Hagfish Slime
Hagfish are not particularly attractive creatures and have a rather unfortunate bodily function. While some people sweat when stressed, a hagfish releases a thick slime when under stress. This slime is so dense and effective at blocking the gills of its attackers that even ferocious predators like sharks will retreat from the vast amounts of goo that a single hagfish can produce. When a truck carrying hagfish in Oregon crashed, the road was completely covered by their slime.
Scientists are intrigued by the hagfish's ability to produce so much slime from so little. A small amount of mucus released into water quickly expands into a huge volume of goo. Some have looked at this slime and thought, 'Fashion.'
By stretching and spinning the slime, a fine thread, much like silk, can be made. Currently, only tiny amounts of hagfish silk have been produced, but one day, it may be possible to insert the genes responsible for the slime production into bacteria, making harvesting much easier. However, the name 'hagfish' may need to be reconsidered before this clothing becomes a global trend.
3. Woolly Mammoth Fur
Sustainability has become a key focus for many businesses today, but some people crave a level of exclusivity in fashion that can't be found in any store. For those with refined taste, a deep pocket, and a cold head, what could be more luxurious than a hat made from woolly mammoth fur?
In Siberia's frozen tundra, thousands of woolly mammoth skeletons are unearthed from the permafrost each year. While these bones are often sold to museums and collectors, it's not just the hard skeletons that are found. Sometimes, the permafrost has preserved everything from the internal organs to the thick, shaggy hair that these mammoths were known for.
Even though woolly mammoths have been extinct for millennia, you can still find garments made from their genuine fur. Vladimir Ammosov received a bag of mammoth hair from his uncle and had a weaver craft it into a hat. Although it has an intriguing history, the hat wasn't the most comfortable piece to wear – it was described as being quite prickly, almost like a massage.
2. Pineapples
Pineapples are not only delicious but also serve as a material for clothing. In the Philippines, where vast pineapple plantations thrive, clothes made from pineapple were once highly prized by the local elite. While the sweet fruit would be exported to tables across the globe, the long, fibrous leaves were collected, scraped, and processed into long, white fibers. After an intensive labor process, the fibers were sorted: the stronger, coarser ones were used to make durable fabrics, and the finer ones were turned into Piña fabric. This fabric could be woven into elegant garments. Today, Piña fabric is making a comeback as an eco-friendly textile made from a by-product of pineapple farming.
Another innovative use of pineapple leaves is as a substitute for animal leather. Pinatex is created by blending pineapple fibers with an acid derived from corn, forming a fiber mesh that is treated to resemble traditional leather. Fashion designers around the globe are now proudly showcasing designs made from the finest pineapple material.
1. Old Cassette Tapes
Present a young person with an old music cassette, and they may not believe these bulky pieces of plastic were once the primary way to enjoy your favorite music. Billions of cassettes were produced in their prime, many of which have ended up in landfills. But with Sonic Fabrics, your old tapes can get a second life.
Sonic Fabrics, created by artist and designer Alyce Santoro, involves removing the tape from old cassettes and blending it with polyester fibers to create wearable garments. The resulting fabric feels like denim but still carries a hint of its musical origins.
By using a modified cassette player and running it across the fabric, the sounds from the old tapes are revived, bringing the music back to life—kind of. The interwoven tapes create an effect that has been described as 'like scratching five records backwards at once.'
