Sustainable XVII – Stella McCartney and Mylo Mycelium Leather

Mushroom leather. Yes, you heard correctly. If there is anything that we know about Stella McCartney it’s that she knows how to take sustainable fashion to the next level. Stella McCartney is a fashion house that has always spoken out against raising animals for food and fashion from the moment it was established. As a lifelong vegetarian, McCartney herself has set the standard for the use of alternative materials to leather, skins and furs. Circularity is the name of the game and the brand has always embraced new business models that transform how clothes are produced, sold, shared, repaired and reused; promoting long-lasting products with extended use that reduces environmental impact.

McCartney and Bolt Threads have been partners in sustainable innovations since 2017 ever since she was introduced to the numerous possibilities of biofabrication. During their partnership both companies have worked to perfect the weight, drape and texture of vegan and sustainable leather alternatives made from mycelium, the infinitely renewable underground root system of fungi. The first product ever created with Mylo™️ was a prototype of Stella’s iconic Falabella bag, which debuted as part of the V&A’s Fashioned from Nature exhibition back in 2018. Now we have the world’s first ever Mylo clothing garments, including black bustier tops and utilitarian trousers. Both were handcrafted from panels of the mycelium-based material laid on recycled nylon scuba at the brand’s atelier in London.  Here they combine an avant-garde perspective with an element of athleticism seen in both the McCartney Summer 2021 and Autumn 2021 collections. Entirely unique, cruelty-free and informed by Stella’s effortless sensuality and signature dichotomy of feminine and masculine attitudes, the pieces mark a major step forward in the fight to make fashion kinder to the planet.

I believe the Stella community should never have to compromise luxury desirability for sustainability, and Mylo™️ allows us to make that a reality. These rare, exclusive pieces embody our shared commitment with Bolt Threads to innovate a kinder fashion industry – one that sees the birth of beautiful, luxurious materials as opposed to the deaths of our fellow creatures and planet – Stella McCartney.

While neither of these pieces are yet for sale, McCartney plans to integrate Mylo™️ into future seasonal offerings marking this ready-to-wear phenomenon as an important step in the future of sustainable fashion.

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Click here to see our last feature in our Sustainable series.

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